Fast-battleship convergence and the Admiral class

How would faster Queen Elizabeth and R classes affect the later Admiral-class design?

The Admirals could begin as well-protected fast battleships. That makes all four more likely to be completed and alters treaty bargaining.

If the Queen Elizabeth and R classes reached battlecruiser speeds, the Admiral class could continue a protected fast-battleship line. It could begin with the armour expected to survive fleet combat, reducing the need for later redesign. A separate comparison puts a more substantial Tiger-derived Admiral at about 48,000 tons, roughly 6,000 above the cited historical figure. A fast-battleship Admiral might aim for 30 knots rather than 32. In the optimistic branch, an adequate initial protection scheme makes all four ships more likely to be completed. The Renowns might even disappear as a separate type if the R-class programme already provided sufficiently fast ships. Fisher's insistence that speed required an armour compromise could also change if he saw successful ships combining both.