HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth following operational training

Alison Treacher took stunning photographs of the aircraft carrier in the basking sunshine when she spotted HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing past the Spitbank Fort on Thursday afternoon.

It comes as sailors said their farewells to onlookers in Glasgow, Scotland, last week following a routine logistics visit. A Royal Navy spokeswoman confirmed that the 65,000 tonne warship has been conducting more routine activities.

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She said: ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth has been conducing routine activity on the coast of the UK, including Operational Sea Training. She has now returned to Portsmouth for a short time, for planned maintenance.’ The spokeswoman did not confirm how long the HMS Queen Elizabeth’s stay in Portsmouth will be for security reasons.

A statement on her Twitter account said: ‘We’re home, having successfully completed this period of training and proven our operational capability. We’ll reset in Portsmouth and head out again soon to fly some jets!’

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