DORSET welcomed a royal visitor when the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy stopped off.

The £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth anchored up just outside Portland Harbour on Friday night.

It is understood it stopped off for a change of crew, with people being ferried out to the massive ship by harbour craft.

Dorset Echo:

HMS Queen Elizabeth anchored outside Portland Harbour, pictured by Rod Clarke who took the photo from New Ground

HMS Queen Elizabeth – capable of carrying 40 aircraft – is currently undergoing sea trials.

The 919ft (280m), 65,000-tonne vessel left its home port of Portsmouth at the end of October for a month-long deployment at sea.

It is sailing around the waters of the south west of the UK testing out its radar, communications and other technical equipment.

Tests are also be carried out to see how air across the flight desk will affect aircraft taking off and landing.

The ship is being operated by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) until it is commissioned into the Royal Navy next month.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first of a new class of aircraft carriers that will be the biggest and most powerful warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy.

The Queen will formally commission HMS Queen Elizabeth into the Royal Navy fleet at Portsmouth on December 7.

It will be the first time The Queen has visited the UK’s future flagship since she formally named her in Rosyth in July 2014.

An identical sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, has also been formally named and is now structurally complete.