Mummy of a Prince (possibly son of Tiye & Amenhotep, Thutmose)

This mummy of the adolescent boy was found between the mummy of Queen Tiye and her daughter (The Younger Lady) in Tomb KV35.

Some scholars suggest this mummy could be the first son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, who died as a youth; Prince Thutmose. However, this has not been verified as yet and this young male remains unnamed.

As you can see, this young boy has the hairstyle present which Egyptologists associate with youth and rather appropriately call the ‘side-lock of youth’; a bald head and a lone long plait of hair growing only from the crown of the boy’s head (here we see the boy has long brown wavy tresses, perhaps the plait has come undone). This distinguishable way of shaving the head was typical of the Ancient Egyptian style for children of both sexes and princes, and can be seen in many reliefs and statuettes across the entire Dynastic age. It is also associated with the lunar deity Khonsu.

The boy’s youth is also obvious by a glance of his stature alone, as he is noticeably smaller than the two adult females he was placed between (later identified as Queen Tiye and her daughter, who would come to be identified as the mother of Tutankhamun).

There are at least two possible suspects for this young boy’s identity, one being Prince Webensenu, son of Amenhotep II and brother of Thutmose IV, and the other, the young Prince Thutmose.

Prince Thutmose was the eldest son of Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III who died as a youth and thus, his brother Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) became heir and king of Egypt.

Prince Thutmose is most famous for his adoration for his pet cat Ta-Miu, leading to him having a personal sarcophagus built for the ‘little mewer’ he loved so much.

(The sarcophagus for Ta-Miu is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 30172. Read more and see pictures here).

Photograph from Tombs. Treasures. Mummies., Dennis C. Forbes, 1998, 2015.