Crossword Genius

King, when retiring, strokes bird (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stephen

'king' is the definition.
(Stephen of Blois, King of England 1135-1154)

'retiring strokes bird' is the wordplay.
'retiring' says the letters should be written backwards.
'strokes' becomes 'pets' (I've seen this in another clue).
'bird' becomes 'hen' (hen is a kind of bird).
'pets' in reverse letter order is 'step'.
'step'+'hen'='STEPHEN'

'when' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for stephen that I've seen before include "Chap" , "English king from eleven hundred and thirty five" , "-- Fry; -- Hawking" , "Boxing Day saint" , "Author of The Shining" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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