Ferdinand Victor Albert Mainrad, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was born on August 24, 1865 in Sigmaringen, Germany, the second son of Prince Leopold and Princess Antónia of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Through his father, he was descended from an old branch of the German royal family: Hohenzollern. Through his mother, he was related to the Portuguese ruling house and the Saxon-Coburg and Gotha family. His family was part of the minor, Catholic branch of the Prussian ruling family of Hohenzollern. had a degree of kinship closer to the imperial branch of the Hohenzollerns in Berlin than King Carol I or King Ferdinand I) Ferdinand spent his childhood at the family residence in Sigmaringen. He attended high school and high school in Dusseldorf, which he graduated in 1885. After graduating from high school he became a student at the Military School in Kassel, graduating in 1897 with the rank of lieutenant. He followed for three semesters, until the beginning of 1889 when he had to move to Romania, the courses of the University of Leipzig and the Higher School of Political and Economic Sciences in Tübingen.
From the moment Ferdinand became one of the inheriting princes of the Romanian throne, the life and activity of the young prince was constantly in the attention of the Romanian public opinion. For example, an 1887 report said that "Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern is said to be quite seriously ill in Duesseldorf." Another piece of news from a later date showed that "Prince Ferdinand in the Potsdam garrison is having a wonderful time." Issues of the uncertainty of the official appointment of a successor to the throne were not neglected. Thus, although the princes are criticized for their weaker interest in acquiring the Romanian language, there are mitigating circumstances in the unclear dynastic situation. "Our King's august grandchildren do not put much effort into learning the Romanian language.