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During his youth, Francis Josias served in the Imperial Army.
The death of his two older brothers Wilhelm Frederick (d. 28 July 1720) and Charles Ernest (d. 30 December 1720) made him the second in line in the succession of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, preceded only by his older half-brother, Christian Ernest.
When Christian Ernest married unequally in 1724, Francis Josias claimed the sole inheritance of the duchy. His father's will (1729), however, compelled him to rule jointly with his brother. In 1735, the support of the line of Saxe-Meiningen allowed him to effectively rule over Coburg on his own right, and Christian Ernest's death in 1745 made him the sole Duke. Already in 1733 he proclaimed primogeniture in the duchy, which, however, was confirmed by the Emperor only in 1747. From 1750 to 1755, he was regent of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar on behalf of Ernest Augustus II Konstantin.
