Some time in late June 1774, Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, ambassador of the court of Versailles to that of Sweden, was sitting in his study in Stockholm reading a letter. This commonplace scene, however, marked the apogee of his career to date. The communication on his desk was from the young Louis XVI, who had just ascended the throne following the death of his grandfather Louis XV the previous month. Setting a pattern for all the new king's future correspondence, it was short and to the point:

Louis.

It was a surprising twist of fortune that had brought Vergennes to this pinnacle. Just four years earlier, he had been in virtual disgrace, abruptly recalled after thirteen years as ambassador to Constantinople after a disagreement with the then foreign minister, the due de Choiseul. Now, after an intervening three years of risky but successful diplomacy at Stockholm, he stood in the same position as the minister who had tried to end his career. The circumstances of Vergennes' early disgrace crystallised his political viewpoint at a critical juncture and had repercussions that went well beyond the moment of his rehabilitation.