Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth celebrates her fifth anniversary in Portsmouth

The mighty £3.2bn warship, the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Senior Service, made her historic debut in the city five years ago and was formally commissioned in December 2017.

As well as state-of-the-art weaponry and communications systems, HMS Queen Elizabeth boasts five gyms, a chapel, and a medical centre on board. She weighs a total of 65,000 tonnes and can travel at more than 25 knots.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: ‘Over the last five years HMS Queen Elizabeth has brought a huge sense of pride to not only the city of Portsmouth but across the UK and overseas. Her global efforts over the last five years have demonstrated the UK’s commitment to a modern and ready Royal Navy’

Since her arrival, she has sailed across the globe on many operations and exercises, showing the UK’s commitment to global leadership and cooperation.

In 2018, she made an historic trip across the Atlantic to visit New York.

Then, in 2019, she supported the Nato task group in Westlant19, a significant milestone for the ship which had Royal Navy and RAF jets embarked for the first time.

The five-week exercise took place on the east coast of north America and was designed to put the F-35 jets and the carrier’s capabilities through their paces through a series of mission briefs, weapon drops, and much more.

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In 2021, the flagship was at the heart of the UK’s carrier strike group, a British led, self-contained force providing cutting- edge air, surface, and underwater defence. The seven-month deployment saw HMS Queen Elizabeth working alongside global allies and partners across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian oceans.

The enormous vessel has also overcome its fair share of problems too, with floods blighting the ship during her early days in Portsmouth.

The ship also lost a £100m F-35 stealth jet in the Mediterranean during a crash on her maiden deployment operational deployment last year.

In between operations, the vast aircraft carrier is still as busy as ever. She has received more than one million hours of contractor support at her home in Portsmouth Naval Base from the likes of BAE Systems, Babcock and Thales who have been instrumental in supporting maintenance and upgrading capabilities of the ship.

She has hosted major international events such as Atlantic Future Forum, a two-day summit where Royal Navy personnel were joined by political and industry leaders to discuss new ways of combatting global instability.

The flagship was also the host of the official 40th anniversary commemorations of the Falklands conflict. The reception welcomed 200 veterans from across the armed forces, members of the South Atlantic Medal Association and Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

His Royal Highness was not the only Prince of Wales in Portsmouth Naval Base for this event, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, is also currently alongside in Portsmouth. The sister ships first sailed together in May 2021 to conclude the Carrier Strike Group exercise, a historical moment for the Royal Navy.

Speaking during ship’s commissioning ceremony in December, 2017, former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones, said: ‘In hoisting the White Ensign from HMS Queen Elizabeth today, Britain has confirmed her place among the world’s great maritime powers in the most majestic and muscular terms.

‘The Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will sit at the heart of a modernised and emboldened Royal Navy, capable of projecting power and influence at sea, in the air, over the land and in cyberspace, and offering our nation military and political choice in an uncertain world.

‘But our greatest strength of all is the young sailors and marines upon whose shoulders our continued security and prosperity rests. They are starting their careers as a new chapter opens for the Royal Navy - and like all those who have gone before them, they are ready to serve their Queen and country.’