THE Queen officially named the UK's largest and newest warship in Rosyth today (Friday).

A bottle of whisky was smashed against the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in a spectacular naming ceremony celebrating British naval capability.

Plumes of red, white and blue filled the sky over the Forth estuary, as the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows joined the celebrations in a dramatic fly-past.

An airborne procession showcasing the Royal Navy’s past and present air capabilities followed, which included several Sea Hawks and Merlin, Lynx Wildcat, Chinook and Sea King helicopters.

Around 3500 people involved in the design and construction of the carrier watched the ceremony, alongside dignitaries and politicians including Prime Minister David Cameron, Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond and First Minister Alex Salmond.

The hour-long event marked the first time in more than 15 years that the Queen has christened a Royal Navy warship.

Ian Booth, managing director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said, “This is a historic occasion for our country and a proud moment for more than 10,000 people across the UK who have worked together to deliver HMS Queen Elizabeth.

“This is an engineering challenge of unprecedented scale and complexity for UK shipbuilding and I want to congratulate everyone involved in making today possible.

"This ship truly reflects the very best of British design and ingenuity and we all feel an enormous honour to see Her Majesty name her today.” The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will be floated out of the dock later this month and berthed in the Forth basin, where teams will continue to outfit the ship and bring her systems to life in preparation for sea trials in 2016.

Teams across the UK are also continuing the construction of her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales. The bow section has already arrived at Rosyth and the first major hull section will be delivered from Glasgow at the end of July. Final assembly will begin in September in the dock vacated by HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Both ships are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the Ministry of Defence.

The Queen Elizabeth Class will be the centrepiece of Britain’s defence capability for the 21st century.

Each aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four-acre military operating base, which can travel up to 500 miles per day to be deployed worldwide.

The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.