The National:

FOR the British royal family to consider something “too grand”, it’d really have to be ridiculously over the top.

It’d have to be something completely outrageous, so tone deaf that even the occupants of Buckingham Palace would deem it too grandiose.

Once again, Boris Johnson has succeeded where no-one else would have tried to succeed – proposing a project that is so outlandish the royal family have knocked him back.

The Prime Minister gleefully announced this weekend that he wants to splash the cash on a new British flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The National:

The vessel will promote British trade and industry around the world, according to the PM. Nothing says modern trading nation like a gigantic outdated boat.

The good news is the ship is a total snip, with a reported cost of up to £200 million.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson announces £200m flagship to promote 'best of British'

A name for the vessel has not been announced, but Johnson has faced pressure from campaigners and Tory MPs to name it after the Duke of Edinburgh.

One Whitehall insider appeared to confirm that the PM agreed, telling the Express the plan "needs to be confirmed by the Queen but the intention is to name it after the late Duke”.

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Unfortunately, Buckingham Palace wants absolutely nothing to do with this scandalous embarrassment.

One senior royal source told The Sunday Times the ship was regarded as "too grand" a symbol to be used by the monarchy in the modern age.

They said: “It is not something we have asked for.”

The report stated that Buckingham Palace has not been involved in the planning process, and indicated the Queen is not in favour of naming the £200m ship after her late husband.

Without royal approval, we’ll leave it to our readers’ imaginations to come up with a more fitting name…