Mieszko the Younger time in 1166 or 1167 in a document signed between Mieszko III and Casimir II the Just at the congress in Jędrzejów as one of the sons of the Duke of Greater Poland. Between 1177 and 1179, as a result of the revolt against his father, Mieszko, with his parents and siblings, were exiled from Poland. They probably returned to the country in 1181, when Mieszko III regained the rule over Greater Poland. In 1184 and thanks to the wise diplomatic affairs of his father, Mieszko the Younger was appointed by the sickly Duke Leszek Governor of the Masovian-Kuyavian principality,
Mieszko III the Old several foreign policy successes through his daughter's marriages: Elisabeth about 1173 married Duke Soběslav II of Bohemia and through the dynastic arrangement between his daughter Anastasia and the Griffin duke Bogislaw I of Pomerania, Mieszko once again reinforced Polish sovereignty over the Pomeranian duchy. In 1177 Mieszko's first-born son Odon, fearing for his inheritance, rebelled against his father. He was supported by Bishop Gedko of Kraków, his cousin Bolesław the Tall and his uncle Casimir the Just. For Odon, the main reason of his rebellion was the favoritism of Mieszko to the offspring of his second marriage and the attempts