Summary

  • HMS Queen Elizabeth sails into Portsmouth Harbour

  • 65,000-tonne ship has been undergoing sea trials since June

  • It is expected to be the Navy's flagship for the next 50 years

  • Thousands line the shore at Portsmouth

Live Reporting

Michael Stoddard, Emily Ford and Stephen Stafford

  1. Thanks for joining us today

    Dan Kerins
    Digital Editor, BBC South

    HMS Queen Elizabeth

    We're going to end our live coverage of today's historic arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth.

    We leave you with a few videos from earlier today to wrap up the occasion and of course, you can read the full story of the carrier's arrival, too.

    The moment HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in Portsmouth

    The UK's new £3bn aircraft carrier will arrive in Portsmouth on Wednesday

    More reaction to the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth into Portsmouth for the first time

    Thousands of people have watched the Royal Navy's £3bn aircraft carrier arrive

    Prime Minister Theresa May has been on board the Royal Navy new £3bn aircraft carrier

    The Royal Navy's new aircraft has arrived in Portsmouth, but how big it?

    Why doesn't the Royal Navy's new £3bn aircraft carrier have any planes?

  2. Aircraft carrier arrives in home port

    Spectators gathered on the shoreline to watch the ship's arrival in Portsmouth Harbour.

    Read More

  3. Crowds welcome HMS Queen Elizabeth to Portsmouth

    The moment HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in Portsmouth

  4. Why doesn't HMS Queen Elizabeth have any planes?

    Why doesn't the Royal Navy's new £3bn aircraft carrier have any planes?

  5. HMS Queen Elizabeth in numbers

    The Royal Navy's new aircraft has arrived in Portsmouth, but how big it?

  6. PM on board HMS Queen Elizabeth

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  7. In Pictures: Queen Elizabeth sails in to Portsmouth

    More images of the remarkable scenes earlier when the Royal Navy's new £3.1bn aircraft carrier sailed in to Portsmouth for the first time.

    HMS Queen ElizabethMOD
    HMS Queen ElizabethMOD
    HMS Queen ElizabethMOD
    HMS Queen ElizabethMOD

  8. HMS Queen Elizabeth is 'symbol of UK' - May

    Addressing crew members and contractors on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Theresa May said the carrier was a "true testament to British ship building and design".

    Six shipyards across the UK contributed to building various stages of the 65,000 tonne vessel.

    Theresa May

    Britain truly has the best sailors, marines and officers in the world. And I believe you deserve the very best equipment and that is what we have with HMS Queen Elizabeth.This ship is the symbol of the United Kingdom as a great global maritime nation. Clearly she is a stunning piece of 21st Century engineering"

    Theresa May, Prime Minister

  9. PM tours HMS Queen Elizabeth

    Prime Minister Theresa May has been on board the Royal Navy new £3bn aircraft carrier

  10. Pompey turns out to welcome HMS Queen Elizabeth

    Crowds of people lined the shoreline to watch the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier sailing in to Portsmouth

    Thousands of people have watched the Royal Navy's £3bn aircraft carrier arrive

  11. Prime Minister on board HMS Queen Elizabeth

    Prime Minister Theresa May has been on board the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, after it arrived in its home port of Portsmouth for the first time.

    She met senior Royal Navy figures including First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Philip Jones and the carrier's commanding officer Captain Jerry Kyd.

    Theresa May on HMS Queen Elizabeth
    Theresa May on HMS Queen Elizabeth

  12. Everything you need to know about HMS Queen Elizabeth

    Ben Moore has been crunching the figures on the Royal Navy's behemoth.

    The UK's new £3bn aircraft carrier will arrive in Portsmouth on Wednesday

  13. Sunrise over the Solent from HMS Queen Elizabeth

    Some shots from on board HMS Queen Elizabeth earlier as the crew prepared for their early-morning arrival in to Portsmouth.

    HMS Queen Elizabeth
    HMS Queen Elizabeth
    HMS Queen Elizabeth

  14. HMS Queen Elizabeth 'part of global Britain'

    Michael Stoddard
    BBC South

    Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin has responded to criticism that HMS Queen Elizabeth currently has no fighter jets on board.

    F-35B Lightning fighter jets are due to make their first trial flights from the carrier's deck next year with 120 aircrew currently training in the US.

    Harriett Baldwin

    "We do have the jets - we have pilots in the states learning to fly the F35 jets. It's an incredible part of global Britain. We are a trading nation and it gives us the ability to have a carrier at sea at all times to project power around the world, do humanitarian relief and take part in Nato operations."

    Harriett Baldwin, Defence Minister

  15. Aircraft carrier 'will become celebrity'

    Rear Adimral Dr Chris Parry, who spent 35 years in the service, said the new carrier returns the navy to its "proper roots".

    He added: "The navy is nothing without a carrier - they are a national symbol and become celebrities in their own right and we've been a long time without one.

    "It also shows that British industry can still hack it to provide a ship like this.

    "One of the biggest compliments was that when the Americans came on board during recent sea trials they were really impressed."

    Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry

  16. "Our wedding cake was HMS Queen Elizabeth"

    Eleanor Kelly has many fond memories of HMS Queen Elizabeth as her husband worked on the ship.

    She has come down to welcome the carrier home with her children Iyda and Jack this morning and said it's a very special day for the family.

    Eleanor said: "We're a very proud naval family so this is a big day for us and we're very excited to be here. The crowds are amazing and the kids are loving it, it's great."

    Carrier

  17. HMS Queen Elizabeth was "right investment"

    Speaking on board HMS Queen Elizabeth as it prepared to sail in to Portsmouth, Captain Jerry Kyd said he is feeling a "huge amount of pride" ahead of the vessel berthing in her home port.

    "It sends the right signals to our allies and indeed potentially to our enemies that we mean business. The armed forces are fundamentally an insurance policy for the country and you can't just, at the flick of a switch, decide that you need these capabilities.

    "You have to buy them, work them up, train them, integrate them with the rest of defence so they're ready to be called upon when required.

    "You can't just buy it off the shelf. Yes, it costs money, but it is all about having the right investment and having the right equipment for the hundreds, if not thousands of young men and women that go to war on behalf of the nation."

    Jerry KydPA

  18. Cockpit view of HMS Queen Elizabeth helicopter flypast

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  19. Ferry services held up by carrier arrival

    The Isle of Wight ferry is dwarfed by the 65,000 tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth Harbour

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  20. All F35 pilots 'excited to get on board'

    Wing Commander Jim Beck will pilot an F35 jet once they join the ship towards the end of next year.

    He said he "can't wait to get on there" and all F35 pilots are "excited" by the prospect.

    The pilot, who said he has been in every combat zone in the past 15 years, said the new jets will make a big difference.

    "I flew a Tornado on night one in the second Gulf War, about a minute ahead of shock and awe to make a hole for the weapons to go in.

    "I would now have been been able to go in completely undetectable."

    Wing commander Jim Beck