However he did not appreciate the potential danger of this design flaw which led to a low freeboard. Consequently he did not issue any orders restricting the amount of canvas she carried and that year she capsized with the loss of nearly 500 lives. It was subsequently established that the ship had indeed been fundamentally unstable. Late in 1872 Milne returned to the Admiralty board as senior naval lord, where he served until 1876, under both Gladstone and Disraeli. After leaving office, on 1 November 1876, Milne was created a baronet. In 1879 he served as chairman of Lord Carnarvon's royal commission on the defence of British possessions and commerce abroad. The portrait dates from this time. Milne's importance lay in his ability to work with the ideas of others, to improve upon them, and to integrate all their best features into his own systems. The portrait is signed and dated ‘W W Ouless 1879’.