MONMOUTH's long connection with the Royal Navy has suffered a new blow – four years after the seventh warship named after the town was decommissioned.

Now Royal Navy officials reportedly "worried about offending the French" have changed the name of a new attack submarine, which originally honoured one of the most famous battles in British history, won by the town's most famous son, King Henry V.

A statue of the monarch, born yards away in Monmouth Castle, looks over the main town square named after the Battle of Agincourt, where his small English and Welsh force armed with longbows confounded incredible odds against a vastly bigger French force on St Crispin's Day, 1415.

Celebrated by Shakespeare as Harry Monmouth, the town is rightly proud of its association with him and the famous battle, which takes pride of place in the Bard’s play Henry V.

Two trees grown from seeds presented by representatives from Agincourt stand proudly overlooking the castle parade ground.

But "the Royal Navy Ships Names and Badging committee" have now ditched the name of the under-construction sub and changed it to HMS Achilles after the Greek hero – a decision slammed by former Tory Defence Secretary Grant Shapps as "woke nonsense".

No less than five previous RN warships have borne the name HMS Agincourt, the first built in 1796 and the last a battle cruiser destroyer launched in 1945 and scrapped in 1974.

The battle has been part of the national pysche for centuries, with Shakespeare's inspirational scenes and lines like "Once more unto the breach, dear friends," and "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers," used to inspire spirits during the likes of the Second World War.

And the cultural significance was celebrated in two blockbuster films of Henry V, starring Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a retired RN officer, blasted about the name change: “This is just craven and contemptible surrender to, I’m afraid, the ideology being pushed by our government.

"It seeks to erase our history and anything we need to be proud of. I don’t see the French renaming the Gare d’Austerlitz to avoid upsetting the Germans. This is just craven political correctness and ideology gone mad.”

And Shapps stormed: "Renaming the Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege. This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history."

His successor as Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, added: “The French are one of our strongest allies. They don’t get put off by names like that… it shows a very pathetic grasp of foreign policy and relationships.”

But a No 10 spokesperson defended the name change as “appropriate and fitting”, adding: “HMS Achilles received battle honours during the Second World War.

"So this name is particularly appropriate this year as we mark the VE and VJ Day 80th anniversaries."

The decision follows the end of HMS Monmouth in 2021, whose long history dates back to 1666 and still boasts the most battle honours of any RN ship name.

The ship’s bell was formally handed over to the town in a ceremony in 2022, and was originally due to be displayed at the Shire Hall.