The Royal Navy flagship has arrived home following the first operational deployment of the carrier strike group (CSG) which was dogged with incidents including the loss of a £100 million fighter jet at sea.

Aircraft carrier Hms Queen Elizabeth with seven warships and a submarine set off from Portsmouth Naval Base following a visit by the Queen in May for its show-of-force voyage to the Far East.

The 65,000-tonne warship arrived back at the Hampshire port on Thursday afternoon while Type 45 destroyers HMS Defender and HMS Diamond returned earlier in the day, with Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond returning to Plymouth. 

The ship’s crew were pictured waving to onlookers from its deck, before they hugged relatives after arriving on land. The photos also captured the emotion of sailors as they greeted their loved ones after months away at sea.

In a message to the captain and personnel, the Queen said: ‘I was pleased to hear of the important work you have undertaken to build relationships between the United Kingdom and more than twenty nations during your seven-month long deployment.’

She also expressed her ‘sincere thanks’ to the carrier strike group and wished them ‘a most enjoyable and restful Christmas’.

The ship’s return comes around three weeks after one of its contingent of F-35B fighter jets crashed into the sea and its pilot had to eject. 

Dramatic video showed the moment the jet toppled off the end of Hms Queen Elizabeth’s runway before it sank into the Mediterranean, sparking a scramble to recover its wreckage before Russian or Chinese teams got their hands on the plane’s top-secret military hardware and technology. 

The biggest flashpoint of the seven-month mission occurred in June, when HMS Defender – which was part of the fleet that sailed with the Queen Elizabeth – provoked fury from Russia by sailing too close to the Crimea region. 

It led to a standoff with a Russian vessel before the country’s president Vladimir Putin to boasted that he could have sunk the vessel and gotten away with it. 

In July, sister ship HMS Diamond suffered a mechanical issue with its engine forcing it to undergo repairs before returning to the CSG six weeks later.

In the same month, a number of ships in the CSG, including the carrier, experienced a Covid-19 outbreak despite all crew being double-vaccinated.

HMS Queen Elizabeth’s commanding officer Captain Ian Feasey said: ‘This seven-month deployment has proven a resurgent carrier strike capability for UK Defence.

‘It would not have been possible without the professionalism, determination and self-sacrifice of the 1,500 sailors, airmen and marines who have worked tirelessly to deliver all that was asked of them.

‘The safe return and operational successes of HMS Queen Elizabeth are testament to their commitment and energy.

‘They have turned a Royal Navy aircraft carrier into a national flagship and it has been a privilege to be their commanding officer.’

During more than seven months away, the sailors consumed an 25.5 tonnes of sausages, 2.1 million eggs, 190,000 potatoes (equivalent weight of 15 London buses), 22,700kg of Angel Delight, 1.2 million rashers of bacons and 355,200 pints of milk. Also, 40 tonnes of mail was delivered to those on board.

Commander Vince Owen, Defender’s commanding officer, said: ‘Our exceptional success on this deployment is down to the superb men and women that make up my ship’s company, and I am immensely proud of the dedication and professionalism they have shown throughout.

‘We are also heavily reliant on the support of our families, for which I am incredibly grateful, and I am delighted that we are able to return home to them today in time for Christmas.’

The CSG ships with their combined crew of 3,700 sailors faced several incidents, both diplomatic and technical, during the 25,000 nautical mile round trip. 

The pilot who ejected from the stricken F35 last month and was found safe but the state-of-the-art fighter jet languished at the bottom of the sea and has only recently been recovered.

A member of the £3 billion carrier’s crew has been arrested on suspicion of leaking video footage of the incident.

The jets are operated by the renowned 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron.

A visit to the carrier by the Prince of Wales scheduled for a few days later was cancelled following the incident. 

The Kremlin claimed after the incident with HMS Defender that warning shots were fired by Russian vessels at the destroyer as it passed through the contested part of the Black Sea- an assertion dismissed by the UK Government, which said only that a routine ‘gunnery exercise’ took place.

Dramatic eyewitness accounts revealed Defender was buzzed by Russian military jets and the sound of naval gunfire could be heard as it sailed from Odessa in Ukraine to Georgia. 

A sailor aboard the Type 23 frigate HMS Kent was also confirmed to have died in July with an investigation launched into the death.

The voyage culminated in the carrier taking part in a joint exercise with warships from the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan before arriving in Yokosuka.

The exercise was part of efforts to achieve a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ vision led by Washington and Tokyo.

The carrier had been originally expected to return port on December 10, but the arrival was brought forward to Thursday because of concerns about the weather.

The narrow entrance to Portsmouth Harbour means that the Queen Elizabeth would not routinely enter during heavy winds.