Maria Anna's paternal grandparents were Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg.

After the birth of their fourth daughter, Prince Frederick Charles reportedly beat his wife for not producing a son.

Maria Anna was almost completely deaf, which according to her friend Princess Catherine Radziwill, "caused her to show extreme timidity and embarrassment whenever she found herself in company".

After his death, Maria Anna left Berlin for Italy, staying mainly in Naples, Rome, and Florence.

[1] In 1889, their only son Prince Frederick married Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, a sister of Empress Augusta Viktoria.