Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1784-1844), was the eldest son of Franz, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, whom he succeeded in 1806. He succeeded to the duchy of Gotha in 1826 through his marriage to Louisa Saxe-Gotha. He was Prince Albert’s father and Queen Victoria’s uncle. His marriage to Princess Louisa was unhappy and they separated in 1824 and divorced in 1826. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were, however, extremely fond of him. On his death in 1844 the queen wrote of ‘our present overwhelming grief … our Dearly beloved Father, was the kindest & best of Parents, -- of Relations & of Princes’. Princess Feodora, Queen Victoria’s half-sister, remembered ‘how happy he always was to show his favourite places and the improvements and alterations he had made; he has left many monuments of his excellent tastes & talents’.

In this miniature Ernest is wearing Imperial Russian uniform with the ribbon of St Stephen, the star of the Saxe-Ernestin house Order, the crosses of St Stephen, St Alexander Nevski and Maria Theresa. The identity of the artist is unknown.