William III never met his great French opponent, Louis XIV yet they managed to reshape 17 Century European politics.

After the Peace of Ryswick (1697), which ended the Nine Years War, he sent his closest friend and favourite, the Earl of Portland, to Paris, as his ambassador and personal representative. The French king gave William's ambassador an enthusiastic reception.

The Parisians joked that this was the ambassador of a King whose effigy was burnt on Pont Neuf only a few years earlier, but they were nevertheless impressed.

In the weeks that followed, the ambassador had audiences with Louis's son and heir the Dauphin, his grandsons the Dukes of Anjou, Berry and Burgundy, and his brother. The royal princes entertained Portland, threw exquisite parties and organised splendid dinners in his honour. William was very satisfied with the way in which his emissary was received.

William's curiosity about his former enemy was insatiable. Portland satisfied this by writing long reports to his master, describing the splendour of the court, the French King's hunting parties, the latest taste in Parisian furniture and the elaborate gardens of Versailles with their sophisticated waterworks.

Meanwhile William's ambassador started negotiating with Louis on a treaty that would drastically reshape the face of Europe. The Spanish Partition Treaty, which sought to divide the Spanish Empire, was William's greatest political achievement.

Back in 1672 he was an insignificant Prince, hardly of age, fighting an invincible Grand Monarch. Now William and Louis had become political equals, and together they decided on the future of Europe.