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 Common Questions about King Tutankhamun
For fun facts about Egypt’s most celebrated ruler, check in with us regularly as we count down to the opening of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Every two weeks, we’ll answer another of your 8 most frequently asked questions about the intriguing “boy-king” as we await his arrival in Chicago!
3) Was King Tutankhamun married to his sister?
Yes, his wife was actually his half-sister, Ankhsenamun.
Sometime around age ten, near his coronation as Pharaoh Tutankhamun, married Ankhensenum, probably his half sister. She was the daughter of the preceding pharaoh Akhenaten and his chief wife Nefertiti. (Tutankhamun was probably the child of Akhenaten and a lesser wife named Kiya.)
Marriages between brother and sister were rather common in the ruling families of Egypt as a way of keeping power within the family. Some scholars think this arrangement was intended to mimic the marriages of Egyptian gods, who were often partnered with their brother or sister. Amongst the common people, however, sibling marriage was discouraged, although husbands and wives often affectionately referred to one another as “brother” or “sister.”
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