Grant Shapps, a former Conservative member of the U.K.’s Parliament and defense secretary, called a recent submarine name change by the Royal Navy “woke nonsense” to avoid offending the French.
“Renaming the HMS Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege. This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history. Under Labour, woke nonsense is being put ahead of tradition and our Armed Forces’ proud heritage,” Mr. Shapps, who served as defense secretary from August 2023 until July 2024, wrote on X.
Instead, the submarine under construction will be called the HMS Achilles, for the Homeric figure of the Trojan War invincible in battle except for his sole weakness, his heel.
Another Royal Navy submarine under construction that is part of the same class, HMS Agamemnon, is inspired by the mythical king who fought alongside Achilles in the Trojan War.
All three names have previously and repeatedly been used for other Royal Navy vessels over the centuries.
Agincourt refers to a 1415 battle in the Hundred Years’ War in which an outnumbered English force led by King Henry V and consisting mostly of longbow-men routed a larger French force, resulting in the capture and death of hundreds of French noblemen and knights.
The article in The Sun that Mr. Shapps posted with his commentary says the submarine was renamed ahead of its launch to not offend France.
Playing on that theory, Mr. Shapps’ predecessor, former member of Parliament Ben Wallace, told Times Radio that “we’re very close to the French. The French are one of our strongest allies. They don’t get put off by names like that … that shows a very pathetic grasp of foreign policy and relationships,” according to The Telegraph.
The Royal Navy says the new name honors previous vessels that bore the moniker of HMS Achilles.
“The name is appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day. Six ships have previously borne the name, earning six battle honours, including the River Plate and Okinawa,” the Royal Navy wrote on X Sunday.
The HMS Achilles used in World War II fought as a Royal Navy ship under New Zealand’s flag while on lease. New Zealand was a British dominion at the time and is now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Royal Navy also said the change from Agincourt to Achilles had been in discussion for more than a year, overlapping with Mr. Shapps’ time as defense secretary, according to the BBC.
A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labor Party said Mr. Starmer is proud of the Battle of Agincourt as well as World War II, according to The Guardian.
The British public is largely ambivalent to the name change. Results of a poll of 6,763 British adults by marketing research firm YouGov found that 40% didn’t care about the change, 32% didn’t know whether it was good or bad, 23% thought it was bad and 6% approved.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.