His mother, in the meantime, had obtained her much desired summons to England, and had taken up her abode in a house placed at her disposal by the ever faithful Craven. For a brief period she enjoyed rest and peace, rejoicing in the return to her native land, and in the affection of her Stuart nephews, who, she said, showed her more kindness than any of her own sons had ever done. Eighteen months after her arrival in England, she died, in the arms of the King. Her pictures she bequeathed to Lord Craven, and her papers and jewels to Rupert, thereby establishing a new cause of contest between her two eldest sons.[14] For the Elector denied his mother's right to leave the jewels--which were, he declared, heirlooms--to a younger son. Rupert held tenaciously to his possessions, and the dispute raged long and bitterly. [1] Strickland's Elizabeth Stuart, p. 268. [2] Ibid. p. 268. [3] Strickland's Elizabeth Stuart, p. 269. [4] Hist. MSS. Com. Rept. V. App. I. p. 173. Sutherland MSS., 4 Aug. 1660. [5] Pepys Diary, Sept. 29th, 1660. [6] Cartwright. Madame: A Life of Henrietta of Orleans, pp. 70-71. [7] Cartwright's Madame, p. 359. [8] Strickland's Henrietta Maria, Queens of England, VIII. p. 232. From MSS. of Pere Cyprian Gamache. [9] Hist. MSS. Com. Rept. V. App. I. p. 200. Sutherland MSS. 3 Nov. 1660. [10] Hist. MSS. Com. Rept. V. App I. p. 170. 2 Mar. 1661. [11] Collins Peerage, Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 107, _passim_ [12] See Hist. MSS. Com. Rept. on Dartmouth MSS. Vol. I. pp. 1-9. [13] Bromley Letters, p. 209, Aug. 11-21, 1660. [14] Will of Elizabeth of Bohemia. Wills from Doctors Commons, p. 109. Camden Society. {302} CHAPTER XVIII RUPERT AND THE FLEET. PROPOSED VOYAGE TO GUINEA. ILLNESS OF RUPERT. THE FIRST DUTCH WAR. THE NAVAL COMMISSIONERS AND THE PRINCE. SECOND DUTCH WAR. ANTI-FRENCH POLITICS Rupert received a warm welcome on his return to England, and was at once sworn a member of the Privy Council. It was but natural that he should turn his attention to naval affairs. The growth of the sea power of England had received an impetus during the years of the Commonwealth, due indirectly to Rupert himself; for had not the Commonwealth been forced to protect itself against the pirate Princes, it would probably have cared less for its navy.[1] Charles II, like a true Stuart, cared for his fleet also, and took a keen interest in ship-building and other matters connected with the navy. In October 1662, he appointed Rupert to the Committee for the Government of Tangiers, together with the Duke of York, Albemarle, Sandwich, Coventry, and Pepys of famous memory. If Pepys may be credited, the Prince did not take the business at all seriously: "The Duke of York and Mr. Coventry, for aught I see, being the only two that do anything like men. Prince Rupert do nothing but laugh a little, with an oath now and then."[2]