Duke Ernest Frederick (1727-80) is depicted wearing armour and the ribbon of the Order of the Garter. He succeeded his father Ernest Frederick II in 1745 as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. In 1749, he married Louisa, daughter of King Christian VI of Denmark. His second wife, in 1757, was Christiane Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and his third wife, in 1758, was Ernestine, daughter of Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar.

This miniature is probably based on a portrait by Johann Thomas Schmidt, known from an engraving by Johann Christoph Sysang, showing the duke wearing the ribbon of the Order of the Garter, which he was awarded in May 1741.

The miniature is inscribed on the back in pencil: Carl Herzog Sachsen Hildburghausen.