Thousands of well-wishers have packed the harbour walls to wave off the Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth as it set sail for exercises and its first operational deployment to the Far East. The £3 billion ($4 billion) aircraft carrier sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour to cheers from the crowds who filled the walls and the beaches. Well-wishers waved Union Flags and held banners saying farewell to their loved ones who will be at sea for about seven months. A flotilla of small boats also lined up to view the huge carrier as it sailed off into the Solent. The crew of the 65,000 tonne warship lined the flight deck while a piper played at the top of the “ski-ramp” at the front of the ship. Earlier on Saturday, two destroyers, HMS Defender and HMS Diamond, and a frigate, HMS Kent, which also form part of the nine-ship Carrier Strike …