Augusta was the youngest daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was brought up in Gotha, Germany. In 1735 she was summoned to Hannover meet George II, who was seeking a bride for his son, Frederick, Prince of Wales. It was recorded that after interviewing Augusta the King was ‘so impressed by her deference to him, her affability, her apparent good sense and innocence that he quickly decided she was the perfect match for his contentious son’ (ODNB). The couple married on 8 May 1736 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.

Depicted as a child wearing a blue dress with lace and gold embroidery,a mantle lined with ermine over shoulders. She holds two fruit in her right hand, a rope of pearls in the other, a landscape in the background.