A thrilling 'welcome home' for HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth has successfully completed her second planned docking period at Rosyth Royal Dockyard, has returned to her home port in Portsmouth, and will soon be returning to sea ready for onward training and operations.

The docking period in Scotland, which ran from August 2025 to March 2026, involved extensive scheduled engineering work that could only be undertaken in a dry dock environment. Delivered through a collaborative partnership between the Royal Navy and Babcock, this maintenance period marked a significant milestone for the aircraft carrier as the work took place in the same dock in which the ship was originally built.

The journey from Rosyth to Portsmouth was the first time at sea for more than a quarter of the current Ship’s Company, which in total comprises of around 700 individuals.

On returning to HMNB Portsmouth, the crew of HMS Queen Elizabeth and dockyard workers were given an exciting display from the RN Parachute Display Team, two members of which are currently serving on the aircraft carrier. Three parachuters were involved in the sky-dive, landing on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth, in the first ever planned parachute landing on board a Royal Navy Warship, a thrilling “welcome home display” for those involved.