Watch: HMS Prince of Wales departs Portsmouth for huge Nato exercise after delay
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has departed Portsmouth and headed for the North Sea to take part in a massive Nato exercise.
Families gathered on the famous Round Tower in Portsmouth to wave off their loved ones, who will join up with allies to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender, off the coast of Norway.
The ship's company made rapid preparations to make sure they were ready to lead the Royal Navy's involvement in the exercise – with the crews of both Queen Elizabeth-class carriers and dockyard staff working around the clock to ensure HMS Prince of Wales had everything she needed.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps congratulated the crew for their work in getting the ship ready for deployment.
"The ability to deploy hundreds of crew to make ready one of the world's most complex aircraft carriers within a week is testament to the skill and ability of the Royal Navy," he said.
"In an increasingly dangerous world, where it is more important than ever that we stand united with our allies, HMS Prince of Wales will send a powerful message of collective security and deterrence at the head of this multinational strike group."
The Queen Elizabeth-class carrier had been expected to depart Portsmouth for the exercise on Sunday but she was delayed.
Originally, HMS Queen Elizabeth was supposed to be departing the UK for the exercise, Nato's largest since the Cold War, but the nation's flagship had to cancel her participation in Exercise Steadfast Defender because of an issue with her propeller shaft.
Captain Will Blackett, HMS Prince of Wales' Commanding Officer, said he was "immensely proud" of the response from the ship's company and their families to "this short-notice tasking".
“We have managed to bring the ship from 30 days' notice to immediate readiness in just one week," he said.
"This has been a monumental effort by the whole enterprise, including HMS Queen Elizabeth, Portsmouth naval base, and our numerous defence and industry partners.
"HMS Prince of Wales is now ready to go; we are all looking forward to delivering the mission."
And getting ready for the mission took some effort.
"In less than a week we have brought on board approximately 70,000 sailors day rations – £400,000 of food – with 450 pallets of stores and 30,000 toilet rolls," Lieutenant Commander Chris Barnett, HMS Prince of Wales Logistics Officer said.
He added that the effort to get the ship ready to sale also meant bringing "spare parts for F-35 Lightnings, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, cold weather kit, and medical stores" on board.
"It has been an amazing effort from all involved," he said.
The head of the Royal Navy thanked personnel for their "monumental efforts" to get HMS Prince of Wales to sea.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Admiral Sir Ben Key sent out a "huge thanks" to service personnel, dockyard teams and industrial partners.
"She was in the early stages of a maintenance period when the decision was made to sail her," he said.
"Scaffolding that took 6 weeks to erect was taken down in 6 days, engines that had been readied for planned overhaul were rapidly rebuilt, and many of the ship’s company altered personal plans including leave and holidays. "The entire process was completed in 7 days and will ensure we continue to meet our NATO commitments. A phenomenal effort by all."
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