Could Prince of Wales have fought Bismarck one-on-one if Hood had survived or withdrawn?
Short answerProbably, provided her turrets and guns worked reliably; the historical ship was rushed into action before those defects were corrected.
NotesPrince of Wales was capable of taking on Bismarck under better conditions. Her central handicap in the historical action was readiness: she had been mobilized before commissioning defects in the turrets and guns were resolved. Reliable armament would let the modern British battleship sustain the fight instead of losing output to mechanical failures. The result would still be uncertain because Hood's destruction came from an exceptional hit rather than a repeatable rule about the two designs.