Autograph letter signed by William V, Prince of Orange to George III dated 1785

WILLIAM V, PRINCE OF ORANGE (1748–1806), Stadtholder of the United Provinces. Autograph letter signed, in French, to GEORGE III, King of Great Britain, recommending Count Michał Kazimierz Ogiński (1730–1800), Grand Hetman of Lithuania. 18 December 1785.
 
Single bifolium, written on the first and second pages, with integral address panel endorsed “Prince d’Orange to the King” and contemporary docketing. Signed in the formal court style, “De Votre Majesté, le très humble et très obéissant serviteur, G. Pr. d’Orange.” Old folds, light browning, small repair at one fold; otherwise sound. Very good. 
 
English translation of the letter:
 
“Sire,
Count Ogiński, Grand General of Lithuania, who has spent several years in this country, and who intends to depart for England in the month of June, has had the honour of presenting himself to Your Majesty, and most humbly to beg that Your Majesty will be pleased to grant him the continuation of your goodwill and assistance in the plans which he may have the honour to submit to you. I cannot refrain from expressing the profound respect with which I am,
Of Your Majesty, The very humble and very obedient servant,
W. Prince of Orange. 18 December 1785.”
 
A formal letter of introduction from William V to George III on behalf of Count Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, Grand Hetman of Lithuania, commending him to the King’s continued favour and assistance as he prepared to travel to England. Ogiński was one of the senior military and political figures of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. A former leader of the Bar Confederation and a persistent opponent of Russian dominance, he had been defeated by Russian forces in the early 1770s, forced into exile, and thereafter remained a politically sensitive figure in eastern European affairs.