 Upon commissioning , both Lion and Princess Royal were assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron , which in January 1913 was renamed the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron ( BCS ) , although Lion became the flagship . Rear Admiral Beatty assumed command of the 1st BCS on 1 March 1913 . Lion and Princess Royal , along with the rest of the 1st BCS , made a port visit to Brest in February 1914 and the squadron visited Russia in June , where Lion entertained the Russian Royal Family aboard while in Kronstadt . 
