HMS Queen Elizabeth has entered the Firth of Forth after leaving Rosyth dockyard for the first time.
The first of two vessels to be built as part of the £6 billion carrier project, the ship has anchored in the river after being manoeuvred from its deep water basin by a fleet of tugs.
The complex process took just under three hours, with the giant carrier at anchor just outside of the dockyard.
She is then expected to sail under the three Forth bridges at around midnight before anchoring again in Kirkcaldy Bay in the early hours of the morning.
There, a number of systems checks will take place with the ship expected to remain anchored off the Fife coast for at least a day.
The Forth Road Bridge has been closed to pedestrian traffic until the transit is complete, while several tugs and port vessels await the carrier in the river.
The complex process is expected to begin in earnest at approximately 4pm, though tidal and weather conditions could impact on this.
Weighing in at 65,000 tonnes and manned by a crew of around 700 personnel, HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most powerful ship ever produced for the Royal Navy.
After leaving Rosyth, she will embark on around six weeks of sea trials before returning to Fife for further fitting out.
Next year it is anticipated that she will head to the United States for aircraft trials with Lockheed Martin F-35B multi-role fighters, of which up she will carry up to 36, along with several Merlin anti-submarine helicopters.
It is expected that she will formally enter service in 2020.
Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, is currently under construction, also at Rosyth.
We covered all of the day’s events in our live blog below.
