Career
She was the third child of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt and Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia. Maria Anna"s paternal grandparents were Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Louis Charles of Prussia (brother of King Frederick William III of Prussia) and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Maria Anna was a younger sister of Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt and Agnes, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg.
Her husband Prince Frederick Charles died on 15 June 1885. After his death, Maria Anna left Berlin for Italy, staying mainly in Naples, Rome, and Florence.
Rumors soon emerged that Maria Anna contracted a morganatic marriage to Captain von Wagenheim, one of her equerries. Maria Anna died on 12 May 1906 in Friedrichroda.
Radziwill, Catherine (1915).
Memories of Forty Years. London: Funk & Wagnalls Company.