Following the accession of James VII and II as king in 1685, Blooteling adapted and reissued his earlier print of James as Duke of York. This impression is a working proof allowing the printmaker to check his progress in altering the plate, having trimmed the lettering from the bottom and scraped away the background tone and laurel-wreath border. In the finished state, a new border with updated lettering proclaims James as king. Cat. 163