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Hetepheres II
Queen of Egypt
Hetepheres and her daughter Meresankh III.
Burial	tomb G 7000X near the Great Pyramid of Giza
Spouse	Prince Kawab Pharaoh Djedefre
Issue	Duaenhor Kaemsekhem Mindjedef Meresankh III Neferhetepes
Father	Khufu
Mother	Meritites I
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion

Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th dynasty.

Biography

Hetepheres in hieroglyphs

Birth and family

Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from ca. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter of Khufu^[1] and was either born during the reign of her grandfather Sneferu or during the early years of her father's reign. She was named after her grandmother, Hetepheres I and she had an aunt named Hetepheres A. A fragmentary titulature found in the tomb of Meritites 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 (sAt nswt bity Xwfw)


• King’s beloved daughter of his body (sAt nswt nt Xt.f mrt.f)


• King’s Daughter (sAt nswt)


• King’s wife (Hmt nswt)


• King’s wife, his beloved (Hmt nswt mrt.f)


• Beholder of Horus and Seth, (mAAt Hr-StX)


• Follower of Horus (xt Hr)


• Intimate of Horus (Tist Hr)


• Companion of Horus (smr[t] Hr)


• Consort of him who is beloved of the Two Ladies (smAt mry Nbty)


• Great favorite (wrt Hts)


• Controller of the butchers of the acacia house (Hrp sSm[tyw] SnDt)


• Priestess of Thoth (Hmt-nTr DHwty)


• Priestess of Bapefy (Hmt-nTr BA-(p) f )


• Priestess of Tjasep (Hmt-nTr TA-sp)

Marriages

During the reign of Khufu, Hetepheres II married her brother, the Crown Prince Kawab,^[2] with whom she had at least one child, a daughter named Meresankh III. After the death of her first husband, she married another of her brothers, Djedefra who later succeeded Khufu as king of Egypt.

She was widowed a second time when Djedefre died. The marriage of her daughter, Meresankh III, to her late second husband's successor Khafra made Hetepheres II the mother-in-law of the new king. She also out-lived her third husband and her own daughter, Meresankh III. A mark of her affection for Meresankh III may be seen in the fact that Hetepheres II had her own mastaba in the eastern cemetery of Giza 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 the subsequent marriages were more to maintain her position at court and were honorary in nature.^[4] She never produced an heir to the throne and was never given the title of King's Mother.^[5]

Hetepheres finally died early in the reign of Shepseskaf, the son and successor of Menkaura, and had thus witnessed the reigns of at least five and perhaps six (if she was born during the reign of Sneferu) pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty.

Children

Children of Hetepheres II and Kawab

Hetepheres II depicted as a sphinx, possibly the first, from Abu Rawash pyramid of Djedefre - Cairo Museum

• 
  Duaenhor (Manuel de Codage: dwAnHr) - "King’s son of his body", "Companion of his father". Buried in G 7550.^[6]


• 
  Kaemsekhem (Manuel de Codage: kAmsxm) - "King’s son", "Director of the Palace". The wife of Kaemsekhem is named Ka'aper (Manuel de Codage: kAapr). He may be the father of Rawer and Minkhaf. His tomb was located in Giza: G 7660.^[6]


• 
  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.


• 
  Meresankh III - Wife of Khafre.^[6]

Children of Hetepheres II and Djedefre

• 
  Neferhetepes (Manuel de Codage: nfrHtps) - It has been suggested that this daughter named Neferhetepes was the mother of King Userkaf.^[7]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hetepheres II.