Why Audacious and Queen Mary still face scrapping

If Audacious and Queen Mary survived World War I, would either be retained under the naval treaties?

Both are expected to be discarded as older 13.5-inch-gunned capital ships; the restricted retention of other ships does not change that prediction.

Surviving World War I would not make Audacious or Queen Mary favored candidates for treaty retention. Both belong to the 13.5-inch-gun generation, and are expected to be discarded. Audacious is identified with the earlier King George V class, whose other ships did not remain first-line battleships for long. Iron Duke and Tiger are mentioned as the older ships more seriously considered for retention, while Centurion's survival as a target ship illustrates a restricted role rather than continued battle-fleet service.