Hundreds of people lined the harbour walls to wave off the warship as it set off from Portsmouth Naval Base for the 28-week deployment by the Carrier Strike Group (CSG).
28
28
28
The Queen visited the warship yesterdayCredit: PA
The warship - affectionately called Big Lizzie - set off from Portsmouth Naval Base for the deployment by the Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific region.
The 28-week-long deployment will cover 26,000 nautical miles.
The group will visit 40 nations including India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The Queen beamed yesterday as she visited the warship in her first public appearance since Prince Harry s latest broadside at his nightmare life as a royal.
The monarch toured the HMS Queen Elizabeth amid a tumultuous week for the Royal Family.
A source said of her public appearance: There is a desire from Her Majesty to get out and about to show people that normal life can resume.
Britain s £3bn Big Lizzie warship sets sail on six-month tour after Queen s flying visit the-sun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from the-sun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Her Majesty paid tribute to her husband of 73 years, who died on April 9 aged 99, by wearing the piece, which she teamed with a brick-red cashmere coat for her appearance at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth.
The Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth has set sail for its first operational deployment after the Queen flew onboard to wish the crew well.
Hundreds of people lined the harbour walls to wave off the £3 billion warship as it set off from Portsmouth Naval Base for the 28-week deployment by the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific region which will cover 26,000 nautical miles.
The Queen was welcomed by the ship’s commanding officer Captain Angus Essenhigh, and Commodore Stephen Moorhouse, commander of the UK CSG, after arriving by helicopter while the 65,000 tonne ship was still at base.
She was given a briefing on the deployment which will take the CSG through the Mediterranean to the Red Sea then from the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to the Philippine Sea.