The warship is currently in drydock in Rosyth, Scotland following a propeller shaft misalignment fault and has been there since March after the fault was discovered just before she was due to leave the city to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender - Nato’s largest operation since The Cold War. A faulty coupling, discovered on the starboard propeller shaft in February, threw a spanner in the works to those plans, stopping her from going to the North Sea and working alongside allied warships and other units, as well as Exercise Joint Warrior. Her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales was instead dispatched in her place.
So while we wait for news of how the repair work is progressing we look back at some of her previous adventures around the globe – and a bit closer to home:
37. HMS Queen Elizabeth
RNOV Shabab Oman II and HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Arabian Sea in October 2021 Photo: LPhot Unaisi Luke
38. HMS Queen Elizabeth
A Merlin Mk2 of 820 Naval Air Squadron carries out Helicopter In Flight Refuelling (HIFR) on HMS Queen Elizabeth Photo: LPhot Belinda Alker
39. HMS Queen Elizabeth
The support party muster for a re-entry brief as part of a fire exercise on HMS Queen Elizabeth Photo: LPhot Belinda Alker
40. HMS Queen Elizabeth
HMS Queen Elizabeth leaving Glen Mallan, Scotland as part of final preparations before her first operational deployment in 2021 Photo: CPO Tryon