Background
She was born in Kiel in the state of Schleswig-Holstein the eldest daughter of Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife Princess Barbara of Prussia.
She was born in Kiel in the state of Schleswig-Holstein the eldest daughter of Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife Princess Barbara of Prussia.
Since there are no males left in the family, the Schwerin branch itself is considered extinct due to the Salic law of succession, leaving Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the only remaining line of the House of Mecklenburg. Her father was the younger brother to the last surviving male of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. As a result, the Mecklenburg-Strelitz line, headed by Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg, will become the only surviving line of the House of Mecklenburg when both Donata and Edwina are dead.
Her paternal grandfather was the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis IV. Her maternal grandfather was Prince Sigismund of Prussia, a grandson of German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal.
She is the heir of Gorm the Old, the first historical recognized King of Denmark, via male-preference primogeniture.