KING Charles has touched down on an aircraft carrier in the English Channel in a landmark royal visit.
The monarch, 76, who served in the Navy, has watched a fighter jet F-35B - which has vertical landing and top speed of mach 1.6 - land on the deck of the Prince of Wales.
And he is set to make a speech to the assembled sailors in the hangar.
The aircraft carrier is in its final stages of their pre-deployment training in the Channel, before she sets sail on Operation HIGHMAST in April.
She will head to Japan on a mission that will deepen the UK's defence partnerships and promote security and stability in a multinational deployment.
It's the first time in nearly 40 years that a reigning monarch has visited a Royal Navy warship at sea.
This underlines the importance and scale of the deployment the Portsmouth-based carrier will lead in a matter of weeks.
Late last year the warship operated alongside the US Navy just off Maryland and Virginia.
HIGHMAST is referred to as Carrier Strike Group 21 by America.
One of the King's first official visits after being crowned in 2023 was to meet personnel at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire during a tour marking the 80th anniversary year of the Dambusters raid on Germany in May 1943.
He also visited the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) hangar at Coningsby, where he enjoyed tea and cake with World War Two veterans.
The carrier appearance comes days after Charles welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky to Sandringham over the weekend.
The Ukrainian President made the visit to the royal estate amid worrying trans-Atlantic diplomatic tensions caused by Friday's stunning Oval Office row with Donald Trump.
The Sandringham meeting lasted just under an hour.
A military helicopter carrying Ukrainian leader had been seen descending over the estate at around 5.25pm on Sunday.
Charles has previously given his wholesale support to President Zelensky saying Ukraine has witnessed "indescribable aggression" following "unprovoked attack on their land".
The pair met previously during Mr Zelensky’s surprise visit to the UK in February 2023, when the King told him “we’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long”.
Meanwhile, earlier today Meghan Markle's new lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, dropped on Netflix.
Across eight 33-minute episodes the mum-of-two made cringe jokes about her bacon, shared recipes with pals, learnt from celeb chefs and even became emotional over bees.
There's no direct mention of the working royals themselves, except for Meghan correcting a pal who referred to her last name as "Markle".
She said she is now a "Sussex" in reference to her title following her marriage to the King's youngest son Prince Harry.
The duke features briefly in the series, with his sole appearance coming at the end of the final episode.
However, he is mentioned throughout, including his love of bacon and putting salt on all of his food, as well as cooking skills, with his signature dish scrambled eggs.
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