HMS Queen Elizabeth: Here’s when the Royal Navy carrier is due to leave Portsmouth

The carrier will be heading up to Rosyth in Scotland for dry-dock maintenance – where the carrier is effectively taken out of the water.

The last time HMS Queen Elizabeth left Portsmouth was in August for a visit to America and then sea trials with the F-35s in the autumn.

Defence minister Stuart Andrew said: ‘After a phenomenal year of trials off the east coast of the US, this dry-docking contract is an important step for HMS Queen Elizabeth as she gears up for operations.

‘The largest ship in our Royal Navy’s history, which was assembled in Rosyth, will now return for this multi-million-pound routine maintenance work as she gets set to represent Britain across the world for decades to come.’

Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, is currently in the final stages of construction at the Rosyth shipyard.

Russell Brown from Defence Equipment and Support added: ‘The teams at Defence Equipment and Support are committed to bringing the national flagships into operational service and this dry docking is a crucial step on that journey.

‘This significant national enterprise is built upon the excellent relationships across defence and the unparalleled skills within UK industry.’

Movements from the Queen’s Harbour Master has the carrier down to leave HM Naval Base on Monday at 10.30am.

HMS Queen Elizabeth will resume aviation trials later this year with British-owned F-35s, and is expected to enter operational service in 2020.