Why did Samuel Pepys become secretary to the Admiralty commission in 1673?

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Diarist Samuel Pepys — Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys, oil painting by John Hayls, 1666; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Samuel Pepys was appointed secretary to the new commission of the Admiralty in 1673 due to the resignation of his superior, James, Duke of York, who served as the lord high admiral.1

The Duke of York was forced to resign his office during the Third Dutch War because of his unpopular conversion to Catholicism. Following this vacancy, Pepys—who had earned the trust of both the King and the Duke of York through his industry and devotion to duty—stepped into the role, becoming the administrative head of the navy.1