LAST week Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal officially named the jetty which will house the Royal Navy’s giant new aircraft carriers in Portsmouth.

The Princess unveiled a plaque at Portsmouth Naval Base officially naming the vast berth as The Princess Royal Jetty. It will be home to the Royal Navy’s two new 65,000-tonne Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Formerly known as Middle Slip Jetty, the berth has been upgraded and strengthened to support the carriers as part of a raft of infrastructure upgrades taking place ahead of the arrival of the first ship – HMS Queen Elizabeth – later this year.

Her Royal Highness met some of the workers involved in the jetty’s two-year refurbishment, as well as Royal Navy bomb disposal experts responsible for safely disposing of historic ordnance. A number of wartime devices have been recently uncovered by dredging work in preparation for the arrival of the two new aircraft carriers. As Commodore-in-Chief for Portsmouth, she is a frequent visitor to the naval base and takes a keen interest in activities there.

The jetty, parts of which date back over 90 years, has been refurbished in addition to the dredging of the approach channel, inner harbour area and berth in order to make them deep and wide enough for the new ships, moving three million cubic metres of clay, sand and gravel from an area the size of 200 football pitches.

Diary dates

Today, The Yorkshire Volunteers Association meets at 19.30hrs at Keighley Drill Hall, The Royal British Legion, Bradford Central Branch, meets at 14.00hrs at City Hall.

Wednesday, The Russian Convoy Club meets at 11.30hrs at Eastborough Working Mens Club, The Royal British Legion, Low Moor and Wyke Branch, meets at 20.00hrs at The Harold Club, Wyke.

Thursday, The Submariners Association meets at 20.00hrs at Tong Conservative Club.

Saturday, The Borneo and Malaya Veterans Association meets at 14.00hrs at Headingley Club.

Monday, The Royal Naval Association, Skipton Branch, meets at 20.00hrs at The White Rose Club, Skipton.

Tuesday, The Parachute Regiment Association meets at 20.00hrs at Thornbury Barracks.