HMS Prince of Wales returns to Portsmouth as Navy flagship for the first time

The Royal Navy's new flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, has returned to Portsmouth in her new role for the first time in her five years of service.

Personnel waved from the flight deck as members of the public gathered on the round tower to welcome back the Royal Navy's new flagship as the bitterly cold dawn broke.

The Navy carrier took over the role from her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, during a visit to Liverpool in which she was also given Freedom of the City.

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During the visit, nearly 800 Royal Navy personnel marched in a short square route through the city centre.

A crowd of around 5,000 gathered to watch the parade which came after the ship received the Freedom of the City – the highest civic honour – in a service at Liverpool's Parish Church.

Despite the proceedings in Liverpool, there was no ceremony to mark the changing of responsibilities.

Both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will now rotat the flagship role between them.

This will see one ready to deploy at short notice for priority tasking and the other in routine maintenance.

HMS Prince of Wales is preparing for the upcoming UK Carrier Strike Group 2025 operation, which will take the vessel and her task force east of the Suez Canal on a global mission.