Princess Sophia Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1724-1802) on 23 April 1749 married Ernest Duke of Saxe-Coburg- Saalfeld (1724-1800); she was great-grandmother to both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

The Princess here wears fashionable dress; her high lace choker a popular fashion of the 1760s and the lappets running down each side from the cap were sanctioned by court custom. This would make the sitter around 40 years old and already the mother of seven children. Beneath this she is probably wearing the grande habit – formal court dress for women worn across Europe in the 18th century.

A three-quarter-length portrait of the sitter with variations to the ermine-trimmed velvet cloak is in the Veste Coburg, Germany.