Why the Lion-class gun problem began with the King George V class

Why did the Royal Navy face a 16-inch gun bottleneck for the Lion-class battleships during rearmament?

Because Chatfield had concentrated the preceding program on 14-inch guns for the King George V class instead of preserving a smoother 15- or 16-inch development path.

The Lion-class gun problem cannot be separated from Admiral Chatfield's determination to secure a 14-inch battery for the King George V class. That choice directed design effort and political capital toward the smaller weapon. It also accepted compromises instead of sustaining a ready 15- or 16-inch path for the next battleships. In this interpretation, the later delay was partly an industrial consequence of an earlier armament decision, not merely a wartime interruption.