| When the interregnum came to an end in 1660, Charles II inherited a fleet of no fewer than 154 ships. Much of the credit for this incomparable bequest must go to Admiral Robert Blake. Under Cromwell, Blake was appointed a Commissioner of the Navy, and at the age of 50 undertook active sea service as an Admiral. In 1649 he chased Prince Rupert's Royalist fleet from Ireland to Portugal, and into the Mediterranean where he largely destroyed it. His ill health did not allow him to survive after a victory against the Spanish in 1657; he died within sight of Portsmouth. After lying in state at Greenwich House, he was interred in Westminster Abbey. In 1661, Charles II had his body dug up and thrown into a common burial pit. | |