The King George V-class was the main wartime battleship class built for the Royal Navy, and with five ships built was the most numerous class of capital ships of any nation since World War I. The KGVs were designed at a time of uncertainty over the future of the Washington Naval Treaty and a desire to limit armament caliber to 14-in guns, which the Japanese eventually rejected. With war in Europe imminent, the British decided to avoid a delay and retain the original armament on the new class to BL 14-in Mk. VII guns in a rather unorthodox arrangement: two quadruple turrets and one double turret, the former which were prone to gunnery problems that limited the total broadside weight. Secondary armament consisted in QF 5.25-in Mk. I dual purpose guns but these too proved mediocre in combat conditions. Anti-aircraft guns were better, however, and benefited from gyroscopic target tracking. On the positive side, armor protection was outstanding (among the best of any World War II-era battleship), and included sophisticated underwater protection. The ships also benefited from numerous machinery improvements such as separate engine rooms and boilers, although the poor quality of British oil required frequent maintenance. The KGV ships were all active during World War II and aside from the Prince of Wales which was sunk just months after its completion, saw extensive service with the British Home Fleet. Once the threat of the German navy subsided, two of the four surviving ships were sent to the Far East for service with the British Pacific Fleet where they served as carrier escorts and for shore bombardment. Their speed of 28 knots made them the only Royal Navy battleships capable of operating alongside the US Navy's fast carrier task forces. All four ships were eventually decommissioned a few years after the war and later scrapped.

The HMS King George V entered service with the Home Fleet in late 1940 and was later joined by the HMS Prince of Wales in 1941. Both ships participated in the pursuit of the Bismark: the latter was in action during the initial engagement in the Denmark Straight, scoring a few hits and fighting alone after the sinking of the HMS Hood. The former joined the chase a few days later, and managed to sink the German ship with help from the HMS Rodney. The Prince of Wales later became the site of the signing of the Atlantic Charter between Churchill and Roosevelt and was sent to the Far East as a counter to the Japanese by the end of 1941. However, it was sunk on 10 December by torpedo bombers off Malaya, being the first battleship to fall prey to aircraft. The third ship, the Duke of York was in action in the Battle of the North Cape, contributing to the sinking of the Scharnhorst. By 1945, the HMS King George V and HMS Howe were sent to the Pacific where they were in action as escorts. The HMS Duke of York and HMS Anson were later sent as well, but arrived too late to see combat.