[2] Duke Paul Frederick Charles Alexander Michael Hugh of Mecklenburg was born in Schwerin, the eldest child of Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg and his wife, Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz.

[1][5] However, in the event of his uncles' families becoming extinct, Duke Paul Frederick's line could succeed, as long as the successor converted from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism.

[6] Despite being put into the Army shortly after his birth, Duke Paul Frederick eventually pursued a career in the German Imperial Navy.

He rose to the rank of lieutenant and in 1902, while serving on the training ship SMS Charlotte, crossed the Atlantic to visit the United States of America and cruise in the Southern waters of the country.

[7] Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg died unmarried in Kiel at the age of 22.