Extra battlecruisers would reverse Britain's modernization priorities

Would a larger surviving British battlecruiser force be modernized before the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships?

Probably yes; their space and speed made them attractive reconstruction candidates, potentially reversing the historical battleship-to-battlecruiser refit balance.

The hypothetical retains several additional British battlecruisers into the 1930s while older Iron Duke- or R-class ships move to training roles or disposal. Those battlecruisers would probably move ahead of the Queen Elizabeths in the modernization queue. Their hulls offered space for new machinery and equipment, and restoring power was essential if they were to preserve their defining speed. Britain might therefore enter the Second World War with four rebuilt battlecruisers and only one comprehensively modernized battleship, reversing the historical balance.