Following the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son Richard tried but failed to rule in his stead. In 1660 Charles II, summoned, as the phrase had it, 'by the general will of the nation,' came over from Holland on the ship 'Naseby', and landed on Dover beach on 26 May, where he was received with acclamation.

The painting shows the moment of landing. High above and in the background, the huge bulk of Dover Castle presides over the scene. In the foreground, hard up against the rough timber waterfront, the gilded and carved stern of the ship is surmounted with a glaring anachronism: the Union flag. It is shown here in the form which was adopted after the Union with Ireland of 1801. Until then, the Union Flag had taken the form which it had assumed under James I in 1606, displaying the Crosses of St George and St Andrew.