Following the death of his mother in 1782 his father married her sister Charlotte two years later in 1784 and the family moved from Hanover to Darmstadt.

George's sister Louise was married to the Prussian king, Frederick William III.

[3] Following the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, George travelled to Paris, where he negotiated the entry of Mecklenburg-Strelitz into the Confederation of the Rhine.

[1] When George succeeded his father on 6 November 1816, he found the grand duchy in a bad state.

[1] George died on 6 September 1860 at Neustrelitz and was succeeded by his eldest son Friedrich Wilhelm.