Thousands of service personnel have returned home to be reunited with their families in time for Christmas as the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales and its support ships arrived at their home bases. The homecoming, the largest in two decades, was brought forward due to forecasted heavy winds. The ships have completed an eight-month, 40,000 nautical mile deployment as part of Operation Highmast, conducting diplomatic visits and joint exercises with allies across the Mediterranean, Middle East, south-east Asia, and Indo-Pacific regions. Over 2,500 personnel from several nations took part in the mission, which included strengthening international partnerships and hosting trade summits. Emotional scenes unfolded as families welcomed their loved ones home, marking the end of a significant and successful deployment for the carrier strike group.