There are many ways of measuring a ship's tonnage, which isn't necessarily the same as its displacement. I suspect the QE Class's Suez Canal Net Tonnage would be laughably small and might be what you'd quote at the start of the programme to convince ministers you were only looking to buy a tiny tiny ship of no importance.
It may be that someone tried adding the weight of the crew, stores, air group, fuel etc. to the empty displacement to come up with a more impressive figure.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
