Emily Ford
BBC South

Crowds along the Hot Walls in Portsmouth have been told today is a day which will be marked in history.

Over a tannoy, revellers heard that it would be a day to remember and savour.

HMS Queen Elizabeth continues its approach to Portsmouth Harbour. It has passed the Round Tower, the 'point of no return' where the commanding officer has to commit to entering the harbour.

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in Portsmouth Harbour.

BBC South's Anjana Gadgill is with families in Portsmouth as the carrier approaches

Emily Ford
BBC South

Mike Smith was ready just before 06:00 to see HMS Queen Elizabeth come in.

He said he'd never seen anything like the crowds here today and was "pleasantly surprised" so many people had turned out.

He said: "I've never done anything like this before but I wanted to see her in real life, she's one of a kind and the biggest ship the Royal Navy has so I couldn't miss this opportunity. I'm very happy to be here today it's really exciting."

Here's the latest pictures from our TV cameras at Southsea as HMS Queen Elizabeth approaches.

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

HMS Queen Elizabeth is still far from being a fully functioning aircraft carrier. But she now looks and feels less of a giant construction project and more like a warship. For the last seven weeks she's been undergoing sea trials.

They've tested everything from the propulsion system to the sewage processing plant. The ships five galleys have been churning out more than 3,000 meals a day for the 700 crew and additional contractors on board.

According to the Captain, Jerry Kyd the tests have gone "really well" for what he admits is a "prototype". But even he suggests that they'll need more manpower when she's fully operational. The slightly larger US Nimitz class carriers have a crew of more than 4,000.

HMS Queen Elizabeth's first deployment is still a long way off. Though helicopters have been landing on her massive deck- the size of three football pitches - it will be another year before the new F35s will begin flight trials. And HMS Queen Elizabeth won't be fully operational until 2023.

Image source, PA

The BBC's Ben Moore has been number crunching the navy's future flagship.

Emily Ford
BBC South

The Hot Walls in Portsmouth are getting so busy with sightseers, people are beginning to spill on to the beach to get a glimpse.

Some of the ship's 700 crew begin to line the flight deck for the journey in to Portsmouth.

The Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth carried out manoeuvres off the Isle of Wight on Tuesday ahead of sailing in to its home port of Portsmouth on Wednesday.

With thousands of people expected in Portsmouth to watch the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth, road closures and special travel arrangements have been put in place across the city.

• The Park and Ride at the M275 entrance to the city has extra buses running from 04:00.
• Park and ride scheme also operating from Stokes Bay fields in Gosport.
• Clarence Esplanade seafront road is also closed between Clarence Pier and the D-Day Museum car park.
• Some roads approaching the Mile End Roundabout from the South will be closed from 04:00.
• Access and parking in Old Portsmouth is restricted
• The Gosport Ferry, Wightlink and Hovertravel to the Isle of Wight as well as cross channel ferries will all be disrupted when the ship arrives.

Full details of all travel disruption is available from Portsmouth City Council website, external.

Michael Stoddard
BBC South

I've just been told there's 149 names on the list of journalists attending today.

They include a crew from American broadcaster CNN and global news agency Reuters.

From the deck of Queen Elizabeth

The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will arrive in Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Isle of Wight

• Sandown Bay (as it approaches Nab deep water channel)
• Culver Down
• Ryde seafront

Portsmouth

• Southsea and the Round Tower

Gosport

• Gardens next to the Gosport Ferry and the Millennium Bridge

These three men are running of coffee and energy drinks after coming down to watch HMS Queen Elizabeth arrive fro the Round Tower at 01:00.

Ayden Appleton, Kyle Johnson and Woody Woodcock decided after seeing all the hype about her arrival they would chance it.

Kyle said: "We were all up and just thought why not, it's a big occasion and we've seen so much about it on the news that we just had to see it for ourselves."