HMS Queen Elizabeth Lauches in UK for Royal Navy - Photos

HMS Queen Elizabeth Lauches in Great Britain for Royal Navy - Photos

The Queen, using  a bottle of whisky, has ushered in a new era of British naval power by naming the Royal Navy's biggest ever ship after herself.

In a ceremony at Rosyth Dockyard in Fife,the Queen gave the signal for a bottle to be smashed against the hull of the 65,000-tonne vessel, confirming its title as HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The monarch, wearing pale blue, spoke of her pride at being associated with the Royal Navy, and called the huge ship a 'magnificent achievement'.

In the run-up to the Queen's action the red arrows made a dramatic flypast in front of dignitaries including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime Minister.

 Earlier First Sea Lord George Zambellas, the head of the Royal Navy, described the ship as 'a steel-clad phoenix' which will give rebirth to British sea power when it becomes fully operational in 2020. 

At the naming ceremony, Her Majesty said: 'In sponsoring this new aircraft carrier, I believe the Queen Elizaberth, a flagship for the Royal Navy, will be a source of inspiration and pride for us all.

'The Lord High Admiral, the Duke of Edinburgh, joins me in congratulating all in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance on this magnificent achievement and wishing the first ship's company well in the time ahead.

'Wherever this ship may serve, whatever tasks may be asked of her, let all those who serve on her know that on this day she was blessed with the prayers of us all for her success and for her safe return to calm waters.

'I name this ship Queen Elizabeth, may god bless her and all who sail in her.' 

The naming of the warship comes five years after the first metal was cut on the vessel and 33 months after the first section entered the dry dock at Rosyth to begin being put together.

 The ship and a second vessel, the under-construction HMS Prince of Wales, are the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is now structurally complete and ready to be floated out of her dock for the first time this month, shortly after being named by the Queen.

The two ships are both termed Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), a partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence. Overall, six shipyards around the UK - Appledore, Birkenhead, Govan, Portsmouth, Rosyth and Tyne - have been involved in building various parts of the carriers.