He was trained for a military career, but also learned how to play keyboard instruments and had a portable one which he carried with him later even during military campaigns. It was because of Stanislaus' influence that Poniatowski chose to consider himself a Polish citizen and he transferred to the Polish army at the age of 26. In Vienna, he represented the Polish king at the funeral of Maria Theresa. In 1787 he travelled with Stanislaus Augustus to Kaniov and Kiev, to meet with Catherine the Great.