In 1891, Rear Admiral Jackie Fisher, then the Controller of the Royal Navy, issued a request for a new battleship design based on the , but that incorporated a recently designed gun and Harvey armour, which was significantly stronger than compound armour. The Director of Naval Construction, William Henry White, prepared a preliminary design for a ship armed with four of the 12 in guns and protected with an armour belt that was thick. White submitted the design on 27 January 1892 to the Board. Due to the greater resilience that Harvey armour provided, less of it could be used for the same level of protection, allowing for significant weight reduction. As a result, the protection scheme was made stronger and more comprehensive than in the "Royal Sovereign"s, while minimising increased displacement. This included the fitting of fully enclosed armoured gun shields for the main battery guns.