Royal Navy flagships over the years as HMS Prince of Wales takes on role from HMS Queen Elizabeth - pictures

Currently, HMS Prince of Wales holds the honour, taking the place of her sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth on December 2 during a ceremony in Liverpool. The Royal Navy said Britain’s two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will regularly rotate the title between them.

One of the 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers will be ready to deploy at short notice for prioritised missions, while the other is carrying out routine tasks or undergoing maintenance. HMS Prince of Wales was named as the flagship for the first time in her five year career.

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She is currently preparing to take charge of the UK Carrier Strike Group during a deployment to Japan and the Indo-Pacific region in the Spring of 2025. There was no formal ceremony to mark the change of title, but both aircraft carriers did pass each other to and from Portsmouth.

Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, Captain Will Blackett, said: “This is a proud moment for HMS Prince of Wales. We’ve been training hard, ably assisted by our sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth. We’re ready, we’re excited, and look forward to taking the next step in the ship’s life.”

Several ships have been named as the flagship in modern history. There is also a special ceremonial flagship role for one historic warship. Here are some of the vessels which have been named as the Royal Navy flagship.