Was Hood a battlecruiser or fast battleship in 1939?

In 1939, did the Royal Navy intend to use Hood as a battlecruiser or a fast battleship?

She was intended as a battlecruiser but was often forced into fast-battleship duties because modern alternatives were not yet available.

The Royal Navy intended Hood as a battlecruiser, but wartime scarcity repeatedly forced her into fast-battleship work. Design intent and actual employment can diverge when no better asset is available. Germany's early entry into the war concentrated British needs in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean before the wider deployment model could operate as planned. Hood and Repulse became tied to battle-line problems that denied them the mobility central to their intended role.