The career of "Royal Oak" in the Royal Navy was brief, but highly eventful. According to John Charnock's "Bibliographia Navalis", Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs was her captain in 1664. The ship fought in most of the major battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War: Lowestoft, the Four Days' Battle, and the St. James' Day Fight. At the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir John Lawson, "Royal Oak" was the flagship of the Van Division of the Duke of York's Red Squadron; Sir John later died of the wounds he received in the battle. After the defeat administered to the Dutch Navy in the 1666 battle on St. James' Day, the English made the mistake of deciding to save money and leave the fleet in ordinary during the ensuing fighting season, a decision ultimately resulting in "Royal Oak" being burnt by the Dutch during their Raid on the Medway in 1667.