A grandson of King Bayinnaung and the eldest son of Minye Thihathu, Viceroy of Toungoo, the prince participated in King Nanda's campaigns to reconquer Siam in the early 1590s, and took part in the sacking of Nanda's capital Pegu in 1599. Natshinnaung became Crown Prince of Toungoo when his father proclaimed himself the king of Toungoo. In November 1600, he killed the captive king Nanda without his father's permission. On , he married his lifelong love, Princess Yaza Datu Kalaya, for whom his famous poems were written. The marriage was cut short however as the princess died only seven months later.