She was brought to the Ottoman court when she was very young, and grew up among the daughters of Sultan Abdülmejid I, father of Murad V.[1] During the Crimean War, the women of the harem would recite the Quran, and Elâru would participate in it.
She was also a part of the music play, constituted by Şevkefza Kadın for Şehzade Murad, which involved a total of eight girls.
[1] Elâru married Murad, during the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I, when he was still a prince on 2 January 1857 in the Dolmabahçe Palace.
After reigning for three months, Murad was deposed on 30 August 1876,[8] due to mental instability and was imprisoned in the Çırağan Palace.
He regularly wrote to Sultan Abdülhamid II, sometimes asking for a little something, and he never forgot to thank when he sent small luxuries such as tobacco or exotic fruit.
[10] After Şevkefza Kadın's death in 1889, authority over the harem devolved to Mevhibe, a position appointed by Murad for life.
Upon his death, Mevhibe stated in her petition written addressing Sultan Abdul Hamid II that despite the doctors' examinations for days and nights for twenty-eight years thanks to Abdul Hamid's protection, mercy and affection, her husband died a natural death.
[14] After the proclamation of the second constitution in 1908, she purchased a home in Şişli, and retreated there to live a life of seclusion, rarely going out.
[15] In 1924 the Ottoman dynasty was exiled, but Mevhibe, as the childless consort of a deceased sultan, was allowed to remain in Istanbul.