Russia, Britain, and the House of Nassau: The Re-Establishment of the Orange Dynasty in the Netherlands, March-November 1813
Mark Edward Hay 
BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review. 133(1), pp.3–21.

Abstract

On 15 March 1813, Tsar Alexander I, in pursuit of the retreating Grande Armée, passed through the Prussian city of Breslau. The Prince of Orange, William VI, who was residing in exile on his private estates nearby, seized the opportunity to meet the Tsar to request his assistance in retaking the Netherlands for the House of Orange. The Tsar was quick to pledge his support, and he accepted Orange into the anti-Napoleonic coalition that would defeat Napoleon in 1814. This anecdote raises several questions about the return of the House of Orange to the Netherlands. How could a stateless, destitute, and exiled dynasty convince the Tsar to support its plans for a return to the Netherlands? Why did the other great powers follow suit? And why was the Prince of Orange in London at the outbreak of the uprising in the Netherlands in 1813, rather than with the allied armies in Central Europe? The aim of this article is to explore how the House of Orange navigated the tumultuous diplomatic environment in March through November 1813 to re-establish itself as the ruling dynasty of the Netherlands.

https://www.bmgn-lchr.nl/articles/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10480/