HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives at Portsmouth

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On 16 August 2017, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed into Portsmouth Harbour for the first time, watched by tens of thousands of spectators lining the harbour walls, Gosport waterfront, and the Round Tower at Old Portsmouth. At 65,000 tonnes and 280 metres in length, she was the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, and her arrival marked a new chapter in the history of the naval base. The carrier had been built in sections at shipyards across Britain and assembled at Rosyth in Scotland, as part of a national programme that involved over 10,000 workers. Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, arrived at Portsmouth in November 2019. Together, the two carriers represent the most significant investment in British naval capability in a generation and have required substantial infrastructure changes at the Portsmouth naval base to accommodate them. The arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth was a moment of considerable civic pride for Portsmouth and Gosport, reinforcing the harbour's status as the home of the Royal Navy. The carrier's distinctive twin-island superstructure has become a familiar sight on the Portsmouth skyline, visible from Portsdown Hill, Gosport, and across the Solent.