If HMS Lion exploded at Jutland

How would the loss of HMS Lion to a magazine explosion at Jutland affect the Royal Navy and Beatty's legacy?

Beatty would become a heroic martyr, replacement ships would gain urgency, and Royal Navy leadership and postwar treaty policy could develop differently.

Losing Lion and Beatty at Jutland would probably make Beatty a celebrated fallen hero and create pressure to name and accelerate a replacement capital ship in his honour. The Royal Navy might investigate the battle more openly internally, while remaining cautious in public about a revered casualty. Jellicoe could become harder to remove as First Sea Lord, followed after the war by more frequent changes of leadership. Beatty's political influence would be a loss, but his absence would also remove decisions made without consulting the rest of the service, including those concerning naval aviation. Reginald Tyrwhitt and other Harwich Force officers are suggested as possible beneficiaries, while Henderson provides an example of effective naval political work without Beatty's public standing. Capital-ship policy could also favour a faster F3-like design instead of Nelson and Rodney. A more alarming public memory of Jutland and a different fleet under construction would then affect Britain's approach to the Washington Naval Treaty.