George Augustus (1748-85) was the youngest son of Charles I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and was Queen Charlotte's brother. Here he is wearing Austrian cuirassier (heavy cavalry) undress (ordinary, rather than ceremonial) uniform. He also has a powdered bag-wig which was fashionable in the eighteenth century – the back-hair of the wig was enclosed in an ornamental bag. The prince attained the rank of major-general in the Austrian army, but frequently asked his brother-in-law, George III, for a commission in either the British or Hanoverian armies. There is a portrait of him by Allan Ramsay in the Royal Collection (RCIN 404963).

The miniature was probably painted in Vienna by an artist in the circle of Heinrich Friedrich Füger, such as J G Bauer.