The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has sailed from its home port a day after its departure was delayed at the last minute.

The £3 billion warship had been set to leave Portsmouth Naval Base on Thursday morning but the sailing was first put off to the next high tide that evening before being postponed again until Friday.

Crowds of people lined the harbour walls to see the carrier off while a lone stand-up paddle boarder raced the giant ship as it sailed into the Solent.

A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “It is standard to operate within sailing windows.

“All ship movements are subject to final routine checks, as well as suitable sailing conditions.”

HMS Prince of Wales leaving harbour as people watch
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales sets sail from Portsmouth Harbour (Ben Mitchell/PA)

The 65,000-tonne carrier left Portsmouth Naval Base to head to Scotland where it will take on board ammunition for future operations.

HMS Prince of Wales will then spend a period of time at sea before returning to Portsmouth.

The Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “The aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is preparing for sailing to Glen Mallan in Scotland for ammunitioning ahead of future operations.”

Its departure comes three days after its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth after undergoing four months of repairs at Rosyth.

The Royal Navy flagship had been due to take part in Steadfast Defender – Nato’s largest military exercise since the Cold War – when the problem with the starboard propeller coupling was discovered shortly before it was due to sail in February.

At short notice, HMS Prince of Wales, which itself suffered a propeller shaft problem in August 2022, was called in to form the heart of a carrier strike group in the exercise, with helicopters and F-35 fighter jets on board.

The Queen Elizabeth returned to the Rosyth dockyard, where it was originally assembled, for the repairs and it left there last week after the maintenance was completed.