Published:
11:15 AM May 22, 2021
The Queen will be visiting the HMS Queen Elizabeth today before it sets sail on its first deployment
- Credit: PA
Personnel from a Norfolk air base will be among those meeting the Queen as she tours the nation s flagship aircraft carrier before its maiden deployment.
The monarch is visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth as the vessel prepares to lead the UK carrier strike group on a 28-week operational deployment travelling more than 26,000 miles from the Mediterranean to the Philippines.
The ship s complement of aircraft includes F-35 Lightning stealth fighters from the 617 Dambusters Squadron, based at RAF Marham. Her Majesty is honorary commodore of the station.
The Queen has been welcomed on board Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of its operational deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
The £3 billion warship, with eight RAF F35B stealth fighter jets on board, will depart later on Saturday for Asia accompanied by six Royal Navy ships, a submarine, 14 naval helicopters and a company of Royal Marines.
The Queen was greeted by the ship’s commanding officer Captain Angus Essenhigh, and Commodore Stephen Moorhouse, commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG), as she arrived by helicopter on board the aircraft carrier at Portsmouth Naval Base.
Her tour follows a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth, named after the Tudor-era monarch who vanquished the Spanish Armada, will be leading a 28-week deployment to the Far East that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted is not confrontational toward China.
Pan Pylas
Captain Angus Essenhigh , left, , Commodore Steve Moorhouse, second from left, accompany Britain s Queen Elizabeth II , centre, on the flight deck, during a visit to HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base, ahead of the ship s maiden deployment, in Portsmouth, England, Saturday May 22, 2021. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be leading a 28-week deployment to the Far East that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted is not confrontational towards China. (Steve Parsons/Pool Photo via AP) May 22, 2021 - 9:42 AM
LONDON (AP) â Queen Elizabeth II made a quick visit Saturday to the Royal Navy s flagship aircraft carrier that bears the name of her eponymous 16th- century predecessor, ahead of its maiden operational deployment.
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