Excitement, relief and nervous anticipation filled the jetty of Portsmouth Naval Base as hundreds of friends and family gathered to welcome home their loved ones.
HMS Prince of Wales has completed the first phase of her 2026 deployment as part of Operation Firecrest to the Arctic and North Atlantic, after spending three months at sea.
Led by the Royal Navy's flagship, the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) also included HMS Duncan – which is due to return to Portsmouth later today – and tanker RFA Tidespring, helping to safeguard security along Nato's northern flank.
BFBS Forces News joined loved ones in the early hours of this morning, where crowds were already beginning to gather, many carrying flags from across the UK – including Devon, Cornwall and Wales – as the first sight of home for personnel.
We will also be live later today for the arrival of HMS Duncan, which is scheduled for 2:10 pm. You can tune in here.
Busy period at sea
Over the course of exactly 13 weeks – or 91 days – the CSG has undertaken various Nato exercises and operations across the Arctic and North Atlantic.
Most recently, Exercise Neptune Strike saw the group work alongside ships, submarines and aircraft drawn from 14 Nato nations, demonstrating Nato's operational reach in one of the most strategically important and challenging regions.
Prior to that came Ex Ramstein Flag, Nato's largest air exercise of the year. Both the UK's aircraft carriers, RFA Tidespring and F-35B Lightnings showcased the alliance's capability to deal with an Article 5 scenario, where an attack against an ally is an attack against all.
Earlier still, Ex Dynamic Mongoose – one of the alliance's most demanding anti-submarine warfare exercises – saw the strike group tackle the unforgiving waters of the Norwegian Sea.
Activities included hunting and evading, in coordination with air and surface forces, helping to replicate real-life scenarios aimed at deterring Russian aggression and protecting critical undersea infrastructure.
Ex Tamber Shield then saw British and Norwegian helicopters missile and fast-attack boat tactics put to the test in the confined waters of the Norwegian fjords during the Joint Expeditionary Force's exercise.
And if they weren't busy enough, the CSG has also been supporting Nato's Air Policing mission to safeguard the skies of Iceland and the Arctic from incursions by Russian aircraft – the first time this mission has been conducted by aircraft launched from the deck of a European carrier.
Welcome home
But while the past 91 days have been packed with activity for those at sea, time often passes more slowly for loved ones waiting at home.
Ahead of HMS Prince of Wales returning to dock, BFBS Forces News caught up with some of them.
One mum, welcoming back her son from his first deployment, said the atmosphere was filled with happiness and excitement.
Asked what the past 13 weeks have been like, she said: "Because it's his first deployment for us, we've been quite anxious because of everything that's been going on.
She added: "But also very proud, we've been really happy about it."
For another woman, who was there to see her partner returning, the occasion held personal significance.
"It's our first deployment with him in our relationship, so it's a special moment to come down and see him back in," she said.
Describing the time apart as "interesting", she said modern communication has helped bridge the gap, even if the distance was difficult.
"You just get into a routine, you build your own routines they have their own and [you] kind of fall into one within each other," she said.
Another mum made the three-hour trip from Birmingham to welcome home her son, an air engineer.
Asked what it's like having a family member away for so long, she laughed: "For us, it's no different, because he doesn't contact us anyway!"
Joking aside, she admitted the separation was difficult.
"He's down [at RNAS] Culdrose anyway, and we're five hours away, so we [use] FaceTime and things like that."
Love and well wishes
The homecoming was also watched by thousands online on our YouTube channel, with viewers around the world sharing their messages of support.
One commented: "My boy is on that ship; I had a full hip replacement on Monday so can't make the journey from Yorkshire – I'm gutted."
They added: "Thanks for everything you do and welcome home boys."
Another said: "I love watching these home comings, makes me proud", while another remarked: "Watching from Auckland NZ – brilliant sight."
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Duncan will now undergo a maintenance period before the second phase of Operation Firecrest, which will continue in the autumn in northern European waters.
But for now, it is a chance for personnel to reconnect with their families, share their stories from the past three months, and enjoy a long-awaited spell back at home.
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