Holland had officially ordered a withdrawal from operations but allowed the cruiser to stay with the Operation Musketeer fleet as "there was insufficient time for a decision not to withdraw" - an apparent non-decision. Much of the Soviet-supplied Tupolev Tu-16 and MiGs of the Egyptian Air Force remained a threat to the RN fleet, making the presence of "Royalist" crucial to fleet defence. The reality of the pro-Musketeer sentiments of the RNZN/RN crew in which most of the key officer and senior rating positions were RN officers and many of the RNZN officers were also essentially professional RN career officers on the return voyage to New Zealand via South Africa. Captain Phipps told the crew they deserved the recognition given to RN personnel for their involvement in the incident. In the 2000s the New Zealand Labour Government and the RNZN awarded these personnel battle honours for war service in the Mediterranean. The cruiser's log for the crucial days of the Suez War was destroyed at the time meaning the full account of her Suez service will never be known.