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Just how big is the navy’s newest and largest vessel, the HMS Queen Elizabeth?

How many hedgehogs would it take to tip the scales?
How many hedgehogs would it take to tip the scales? How many hedgehogs would it take to tip the scales?

The UK’s £3 billion aircraft carrier has arrived at is home port fort the first time.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth was greeted by tens of thousands of people in Portsmouth, and Prime Minister Theresa May has hailed the ship as a symbol of the UK being a “great global maritime nation”.

The vessel involved more than 10,000 people in its construction and is the newest and largest of the Royal Navy’s fleet – weighing 65,000 tonnes and stretching some 280m (919ft).

Just how big is that though?

Well, put it this way…

In length it’s like 5.4 Nelson’s Columns laid end-to-end.

Size comparison of the vessel with Nelson's Column
Size comparison of the vessel with Nelson's Column (PA Graphics/Press Association Images)
(PA Graphics)

It could also be equated to about 2.9 Elizabeth Towers (which of course houses Big Ben).

Elizabeth Tower
Elizabeth Tower (Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images)
(Victoria Jones/PA)

In terms of weight, it’s a real behemoth.

Using that age-old weight measurement the African elephant, it would take a whopping 10,833 typical adults of the mammal to balance the scales.

An elephant
An elephant (Firdia Lisnawati/AP/PA Images)
(Firdia Lisnawati/AP)

If you were to choose a more British animal however, you’d find the ship equates to roughly 108,333,333 healthy-weight hedgehogs in the UK.

Hedgehog
Hedgehog (Andrew Milligan/PA Archive/PA Images)
(Andrew Milligan/PA)

That’s a lot of prickly customers – and that’s a pretty large boat.

PM May said of the ship: “Whether the task be high intensity war-fighting, targeted action to fight terrorism, or humanitarian relief to save lives overseas, these ships will transform the UK’s ability to project power around the world.”

The carrier arrive in Portsouth
The carrier arrive in Portsouth (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/PA Images)
(Gareth Fuller/PA)

May added: “It sends a clear signal that as Britain forges a new, positive, confident role on the world stage in the years ahead we are determined to remain a fully engaged global power, working closely with our friends and allies around the world.”