In the left foreground is a port bow view of the ‘Royal Prince’ before the wind with only her foremast standing. She is engaged with Tromp close on her starboard beam and a fireship on the extreme left. In the background beyond is Ossory in the ‘St. Michael’ hove-to; ahead of him, the ‘Olifant’ is close-hauled on the port tack, with Kempthorne in the ‘St. Andrew’ on the starboard tack crossing her bow.

In the right foreground is a lee bow view of the ‘St. George’, close-hauled on the port tack; Spragge is shown just after leaving her when a roundshot sank his boat (‘de boote daer de Ridder sprag…was); astern of her a three decker, probably the ‘Royal Charles’. The positions of the ships and the time of Spragge’s shifting his flag cannot be reconciled with other drawings. In the background, Chicheley is going about ahead of De Liefde; Rupert and De Ruyter are both close-hauled; Harman aback on the extreme right, engaged at long range with Banckert.

This is an unsigned pencil and wash drawing by the Elder strengthened with pen and grey ink.

This work would appear to be a later drawing than the seven numbered drawings in the NMM’s collection (PAJ2528, PAJ2529, PAJ2530, PAJ2531, PAJ2532, PAJ2533, PAJ2534) and may relate to the painting at Felbrigg, Norfolk (National Trust) which has a similarly high horizon, and shows the ‘Royal Prince’ in a similar position, engaged with Tromp in the ‘Gouden Leeuw’, but is intended to be an earlier phase of the battle.