Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of theFourth Dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from c. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter ofKhufu[1] and was either born during the reign of her grandfatherSneferu or during the early years of her father's reign. She was named after her grandmother,Hetepheres I and she had an aunt namedHetepheres A. A fragmentary titulature found in the tomb ofMeritites I may indicate that she was the mother of Hetepheres II.
Titles of Hetepheres II
Daughter of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Khufu (zat-nesut-biti-Khufu,zꜣt nswtbjtjḫw.f-wj)
King’s beloved daughter of his body (zat-nesut-khetef-meretef,zꜣt nswtẖt.fmrt.f)
During the reign of Khufu, Hetepheres II married her brother, the Crown PrinceKawab,[2] with whom she had at least 2 children, a daughter namedMeresankh III and a son namedMindjedef. After the death of her first husband, she married another of her brothers,Djedefre who later succeeded Khufu as king of Egypt.
She was widowed a second time whenDjedefre died. The marriage of her daughter, Meresankh III, to her late second husband's successorKhafre made Hetepheres II the mother-in-law of the new king. She would later out-live Meresankh III. A mark of her affection for Meresankh III may be seen in the fact that Hetepheres II had her ownmastaba in the eastern cemetery ofGiza converted into a tomb for her daughter's use. Hetepheres II herself was probably buried in tomb G7350 even though she possessed a joint tomb with her first husband, Kawab (G7110 and 7120 respectively).[3]
While marriage within the royal family was common, multiple marriages to this extent was not. It has been suggested her subsequent marriage to Djedefre was honorary in nature and done in order to maintain her position at court.[4] She never produced an heir to the throne in her second marriage and was never given the title ofKing's Mother.[5]
Hetepheres finally died early in the reign ofShepseskaf, the son and successor ofMenkaura, and had thus witnessed the reigns of at least five and perhaps six (if she was born during the reign of Sneferu) kings of the fourth Dynasty.
Mindjedef: "King’s son of his body", "Hereditary prince", "Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt", etc. His wife was named Khufu-ankh. His tomb is located in Giza: G 7760.
Media related toHetepheres II at Wikimedia Commons
