Renown as a lighter but high-quality battleship

Could a Mediterranean commander choose a useful lighter flagship instead of the most prestigious battleship?

Yes, and Renown was a strong example: lighter rather than cheaply made, with quality retained despite her nominal second-class status.

A sufficiently senior admiral could bring prestige to a less imposing flagship rather than relying on the ship to supply it. Renown was lighter than a first-class battleship, but the Royal Navy had not sacrificed the quality of her materials. The contrast is with Russian ships called second class that, in this assessment, should not have been sent into serious combat. Nominal class could therefore conceal large differences in construction quality and operational usefulness.