The flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Illustrious, berthed in Grand Harbour yesterday to a grand welcome from thousands of people waving from the bastions of the three cities and Valletta.

A group of journalists, MPs, local councillors from Cottonera and businessmen were flown to the aircraft carrier in the morning in time for its entry and spoke to the captain for a few minutes before he turned his full attention to the delicate manouvre into the harbour.

Asked about the security concerns surrounding the official visit of their monarch - a listed target of al-Qaeda - before such an international summit, the warship's Commanding Officer Bob Cooling reiterated what the High Commission has been saying for the past few days: "The ship is only in Malta for ceremonial purposes, to support the Queen's state visit. Should the Maltese authorities require assistance we will be glad to offer it, however, as far as the ship is concerned we will not be deploying any unusual security arrangements."

The HMS Exeter also arrived yesterday as a support ship to the Illustrious.

The crew of the Illustrious has been preparing for this visit for the past few months, during which time no detail seems to have been spared, down to a series of lectures by military historian Andrew Gordon on the connection of the Illustrious with Malta.

The history of the ship, in fact, is intertwined with that of Malta. In 1941 the Grand Harbour was blitzed by German and Italian planes in a bid to sink the fourth Illustrious (the one that berthed yesterday is the fifth). The ship limped into the Dockyards where the workers risked their lives trying to repair it.

The welcome given at the harbour yesterday exhilarated the officers. Comander Ian Annet said he could not remember a similar welcome in a foreign port in his 20 years of naval career.

On the way in, a deafening 21-gun salute was fired by the ship, shortly after all the crew and those present aboard were supplied with ear plugs. The salute was reciprocated from the Upper Barrakka.

The ship carries a crew of 650, which includes 114 women. The average age is 23.

On the point of female soldiers, a hot topic for the military some 10 years ago, Captain Cooling said the decision to enlist women in the navy was most certainly an astute decision, which paid off.

"The women aboard this ship are as good as any of the men," he insisted, pointing out that with time, many are making it to top posts.