He received a good education in Sweden, served in Poland and Saxony, and participated in the secret efforts of France to restore Stanisław Leszczyński to the Polish throne.

Upon Mazepa's death, Pylyp Orlyk was proclaimed the hetman of Ukraine in exile and by agreement between Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire in 1714, Charles XII and his allies were allowed safe passage to Sweden.

There he spent two years and received a good education: he studied music (and became a proficient lute player), philosophy and metaphysics,[3] and became fluent in Latin and several other European languages.

His service there didn't last long, as in 1726 Russia demanded his extradition from Saxony, and the young officer moved first to Austria and then to Poland, where he became an adjutant of the crown hetman.

On Orlyk's return to Paris, Louis XV rewarded him with a diamond ring, while Queen Marie – the daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński – gave him her portrait adorned with precious stones.

In 1740s Grégoire Orlyk proposed to the king an ambitious plan of resettling Ukrainian Cossacks in the Rhine region under French protection; however, this too was dropped because of Turkey's objections.

Later on, Orlyk belonged to the special intelligence service of Louis XV – the Secret du Roi – and went on clandestine missions to many European countries, for which he received praise from numerous quarters, including the highest decorations from France, Poland and Sweden.

[9] In 2006 voluminous records of Orlyk's clandestine correspondence with Louis XV within the Secret du Roi were discovered in the French archives and are being studied.