The Director of Naval Construction, Sir William White, proposed a further pair of "London"s to round out a tactical squadron of eight ships for the 1900 Naval Programme. After some hesitation, the Admiralty agreed, despite the ongoing construction of the smaller and faster . A controversy engendered by Rear-Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, about the retention of obsolete ironclads in the fleet in mid-1900 was largely responsible for the decision. The two ships were virtually identical to the preceding "London" sub-class of the "Formidable"s and are generally considered part of the "Formidable" or "London" class, but the difference in the distribution of their 12-pounder guns, their lower displacement, and their later construction than the "Duncan"s lead some authors to view them as constituting a "Queen" class separate from the "Formidable" and "London" classes.