A three-quarter-length group showing the Duchess of York seated on the left holding Princess Anne in her arms; on her right Princess Mary approaches with a chaplet of flowers; the Duke of York, seated on the right points with his right hand to a globe on which he rests his left arm.

This group portrait is based upon a double portrait design by Lely of the Duke and Duchess of York, of which other versions exist, the finest being at Petworth. Lely presumably started a version in around 1668-70 which was also to include the Duke's two daughters. The figures and the curtain had probably only been blocked in by Lely before his death in 1680, after which Benedetto Gennari was commissioned to finish the composition.

The contrast between the two artist's approach to depicting costume is evident when comparing the plain brown silk satin dress of the Duchess of York, which is of a colour and simple construction favoured by Lely, with the clothing of Princess Mary, whose dress by contrast is of a densely brocaded blue silk with a pleated waistline and leading strings attached to the shoulders.

In 1660, shortly before this picture was painted, James, Duke of York established the Royal Africa Company. This company was responsible for trading thousands of enslaved African men and women across the Atlantic. In the right corner the Duke rests his arm on the top of the globe, while his outstretched finger points at the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps indicative of his ambitions and sense of ownership over the African continent as a result of his commercial success as Governor of the Royal Africa Company.