Ormond's departure from Breda in May 1660 was marked with a tone of both cautious optimism and veiled doubt as to where the Restoration would lead the Three Kingdoms under the watchful eyes of Catholic Europe. Pressed by the papal internuncio at Brussels, Girolamo de Vechii, Ormond cautioned that, while some measure of toleration might indeed be implemented by the newly restored Charles II, it was limited by political and confessional realities at home. While de Vechii tactfully reminded Ormond that all of his ancestors were Catholics, Ormond could not hide his scepticism: English Catholics, he anticipated, were more likely to receive sympathy from Charles, but this was likely to provoke the anger and opposition of Parliament. De Vechii's role as interlocutor between Charles and the Vatican was fondly remembered by Hyde, Ormond, and others both in the course of and following the Restoration; however, the setting of terms for the relation of the newly-restored monarch with his subjects was no longer to be determined by the investment of foreign powers whose aid had never materialised. Rather, the latitudes and strictures of the Restoration would demand a strikingly different balancing act for those who had aided Charles II in exile, grounded in the strained dialogues between king, parliament, church, and people of the Three Kingdoms rather than the monarchs, favourites, and clergy of Europe.

On material and personal grounds, none of those who had served Charles II in exile were left wanting recognition from their restored king, receiving both wealth and influence as recompense.