The Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales has sailed from its home base as it prepares for its deployment to the other side of the world.
Well-wishers waved off the 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier as it sailed from Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire.
Well-wishers wave off HMS Prince of Wales as it sails from Portsmouth Naval Base (Ben Mitchell/PA)
A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “The Royal Navy’s Flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, left Portsmouth today for pre-deployment training and collecting stores.
“This is part of the ongoing preparation for the carrier strike group (CSG) deployment taking place later this year.”
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced in December that the flagship will head the CSG to the Indo-Pacific during which it will become the first of the two Queen Elizabeth class carriers to visit Australia.
The £3 billion warship will also take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre, a multinational exercise hosted by Australia involving 19 nations.