HMS Queen Elizabeth passes under Forth Bridge as she heads to open water for sea trials

HMS Queen Elizabeth has passed under the Forth Bridge as she heads for sea trials after eight months of maintenance.

The carrier left Rosyth dockyard in Fife on Sunday, since when she had been at anchor in the Firth of Forth.

However, she has now left under the cantilever railway bridge for trials, having docked in Rosyth last July.

• HMS Queen Elizabeth sets sail from Portsmouth to test new nav and propulsion upgrades
• Record-breakers: Submariners home from nuclear deterrent patrol after 205 days at sea
• The High North's security depends on our ability to act together, First Sea Lord says

Back to where it all began

The carrier is no stranger to Rosyth, as the dockyard is where she was christened on 4 July 2014 by the late Queen Elizabeth II, being named after the Tudor monarch Queen Elizabeth I.

She had had to wait until low tide on the Forth before travelling under the three bridges that span the water – including the iconic rail crossing.

The size of aircraft carriers like HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales means getting her to open water is a delicate and well-planned process.

HMS Queen Elizabeth spent a little longer in Fife than initially planned, undergoing upgrades to her propulsion system as well as other engineering work.

She will be a welcome return to the fleet, with a busy Royal Navy needing every seagoing asset available to meet its ambitions.

HMS Queen Elizabeth's next deployment hasn't been confirmed, but she could see herself tasked with Operation Firecrest in the North Atlantic in the next few weeks.