The bottom of the barrel ...
A snippet on Beebworld on 13/6 mentioned that the French Chief of Naval Forces said recently that the Charles de Gaulle's time on station to help the Libyan campaign will run out at the end of the year. The ship had been "elsewhere" befiore Libya began, and returned as planned to Toulon, where it was to be serviced. From there it was ordered "smartish" to be on hand for the campaign, with its crew and aircraft re-embarked for this unexpected duty.
By December 2011 it will really need the servicing, in which case it will not be available for most (if not all) of 2012 - the Admiral said something like "We are really scraping the bottom of the barrel".
Seems to me that if your politicians want carrier air to be available for any campaign they deem necessary, they've got to have two("One on and one in the wash" as one used to say on kit inspections) - and the campaign can't last for long either (which, clearly, was what "they" expected for this Libyan thing).
New subject:
As far as Prince Philip's new title goes, it sounds more than a bit Gilbert & Sullivan-ish - Lord High Admiral of the Queen's Naveeee. Some more salve for the Battenbergs' honour, perhaps. Historians will know what I'm on about ...