She was the eldest child and daughter of Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt.

Nearly a month after her birth, Duchess Marie was christened into the Lutheran church on 2 June at the Carolinenpalais in Neustrelitz.

[3] The servant, a married man named Heinrich Hecht, was responsible for turning off the gas-lights in the bedrooms of the grand ducal children.

[3] Hecht was dismissed from service on the charge of stealing; his subsequent lawsuit against the grand ducal family made the details of the story public.

The wedding was held at the Catholic Chapel of St. Elizabeth in Richmond Park, London, near White Lodge, the home of Marie's late great-aunt the Duchess of Teck.

[6] Even though the marriage was morganatic, many members of Marie's family attended the wedding, including her grandparents, parents, and three siblings.

[14] Having lost her fortune due to the divorce,[3] Marie resumed the use of her Mecklenburg title and lived in the Blasewitz section of Dresden, capital of the Kingdom of Saxony.