KING SAID 'NON' TO AGINCOURT

THE King vetoed a new Navy submarine being called HMS Agincourt to avoid upsetting the French over their historic defeat.

- Martyn Brown

Charles torpedoed the vessel's original name, approved by Queen Elizabeth in 2018, and the £1.5billion sub is now to be called HMS Achilles. The Daily Express has been told that the King made his intervention last year.

His Majesty is understood to have been concerned that naming the under-construction hunter-killer sub after the 1415 battle would remind the French of their surprise defeat by a smaller English and Welsh army, led by King Henry V.

It is believed that the name had previously been approved by his late mother Elizabeth II.

A source familiar with the renaming decision said: "The King personally stepped in and made it clear the name had to be changed because he didn't want to upset the French."

The name-changing process became "snarled up in Whitehall", according to the source, but later "resurfaced" under the current Labour government. Buckingham Palace declined to comment when approached by this newspaper.

A spokesperson said: "This would be a matter for the Royal Navy."

Typically, members of the Ships' Names and Badges Committee suggest names to service chiefs on the Navy Board which sends its selection to the Defence Secretary for sign-off.

The names are submitted to the monarch, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, for approval. The Royal Navy would not say why the nuclear-powered submarine's original name had been changed.