The Art Journal described the picture as 'a brilliant performance, rich in colour, and exhibiting a very accurate knowledge of the costume of the period.' The label on the reverse relates to the Mémoires du Comte de Grammont by Anthony Hamilton (1713), which contains a famous account of the court of Charles II. Significantly, perhaps, an English version, edited by Sir Walter Scott, was published in 1846, nine years before this picture appeared at the Royal Academy.