Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1780-1820), second son of Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Anna Sophia of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadtt, was brother of the reigning Duke Ernest Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and uncle of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He was grandfather to Queen Victoria and to Prince Albert. He served in the Imperial Austrian army in the Seven Years' War, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1758. As Field Marshall in the Russo-Turkish War (1787-1791) he was jointly responsible for victories which included the Battle of Martinesti of 1789, and was awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa, which he proudly wears in this portrait.
 
The full-length prototype of this image by Ferdinand Jagemann (1780 – 1820) in the Veste Coburg, is dated 1814. The Collection also holds a small enamel copy of the full-length composition, dated 1854 (RCIN 400949) and a bust-length miniature, dated 1848 (RCIN 422054). Another, anonymous, half-length version at Versailles (MV 4591) is of the same dimensions as this painting. A minor difference is the inclusion of the word 'FORTITUDINE' on the star on the breast in the Versailles version. In this version the Prince appears half-length, wearing an Austrian military uniform with a red and green riband, and star of the Order of Maria Theresa of Austria.