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

Fourth dynasty of Egypt

The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...

, which lasted from ca. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter of Khufu and was either born during the reign of her grandfather Sneferu

Sneferu

Sneferu, also spelled as Snephru, Snefru or Snofru , was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Estimates of his reign vary, with for instance The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggesting a reign from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC, a reign of 24 years, while Rolf Krauss suggests a 30-year reign...

 or during the early years of her father's reign. She was named after her grandmother, Hetepheres I

Hetepheres I

Queen Hetepheres I was a Queen of Egypt during the 4th dynasty.- Biography :Hetepheres I may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni. Her title God's Daughter suggests she was the daughter of a king and the most likely candidate is Huni, the predecessor of Sneferu...

 and she had an aunt named Hetepheres A

Princess Hetepheres

Princess Hetepheres was an Egyptian princess who lived during the 4th dynasty. Hetepheres was the daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of vizier Ankhhaf.- Biography :...

. A fragmentary titulature found in the tomb of Meritites I

Meritites I

Meritites I was an ancient Egyptian Queen of the 4th dynasty.She was a daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of King Khufu. Her name means "Beloved of her Father". Several of her titles are known from a stela found at Giza. She was the mother of Crown Prince Kawab and may have had several more...

 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

Kawab

Kawab was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110 - 7120 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.- Biography:Kawab was the eldest son of Pharaoh...

, with whom she had at least one child, a daughter named Meresankh III

Meresankh III

Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and Prince Kawab and a grand-daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. She was the wife of King Khafre.-History:...

. After the death of her first husband, she married another of her brothers, Djedefra

Djedefra

Djedefre was an Egyptian pharaoh, the son and immediate successor of Khufu. The mother of Djedefre is unknown. His name means "Enduring like Re." Djedefre was the first king to use the title Son of Ra as part of his royal titulary, which is seen as an indication of the growing popularity of the...

 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

Khafra

Khafra — also Khafre — was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, who had his capital at Memphis. According to some authors he was the son and successor of Khufu, but it is more commonly accepted that Djedefre was Khufu's successor and Khafra was Djedefre's...

 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

Mastaba

A mastaba, or "pr-djt" , is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period...

 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).

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. She never produced an heir to the throne and was never given the title of King's Mother.

Hetepheres finally died early in the reign of Shepseskaf

Shepseskaf

Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaure who succeeded his father on the throne. Shepseskaf's name means "His Soul is Noble."- Family :Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaure and grandson of Khafra, but his mother's name is not known. His mother can be either Khamerernebty II or Rekhetre...

, the son and successor of Menkaura

Menkaura

Menkaure was a pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt who ordered the construction of the third and smallest of the Pyramids of Giza. His name means "Eternal like the Souls of Re"...

, 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 of Hetepheres II and Kawab

• Duaenhor
  Duaenhor
  - Family :Duaenhor is thought by some to be a son of Crown Prince Kawab and Queen Hetepheres II. If so, he would have been a grandson of Pharaoh Khufu and Queen Meritites I. On the other hand, based on his titles, he may be one of the younger sons of Khufu .Duaenhor's brothers were Kaemsekhem and...
  
    dwA n Hr (Manuel de Codage: dwAnHr) - "King’s son of his body", "Companion of his father". Buried in G 7550.
• Kaemsekhem
  Kaemsekhem
  Kaemsekhem was an Ancient Egyptian nobleman, and likely the son of Crown Prince Kawab and Hetepheres II. He later served as the director of the palace. He was buried in mastaba G 7660 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.- Family :...
  
   kA m sxm (Manuel de Codage: kAmsxm) - "King’s son", "Director of the Palace". The wife of Kaemsekhem is named Ka'aper kA a:p*r (Manuel de Codage: kAapr). He may be the father of Rawer and Minkhaf. His tomb was located in Giza: G 7660.
• Mindjedef
  Mindjedef
  Mindjedef was a Prince of Egypt, who lived during the 4th dynasty. His name means "Enduring Like Min". Min is an Egyptian fertility god.- Family :...
  
   - "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
  Meresankh III
  Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and Prince Kawab and a grand-daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. She was the wife of King Khafre.-History:...
  
   - Wife of Khafre.

Children of Hetepheres II and Djedefre

• Neferhetepes
  Neferhetepes
  Neferhetepes was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 4th dynasty; a daughter of Pharaoh Djedefre who ruled between his father Khufu and his brother Khafra. Her mother was Hetepheres II.- Biography :...
  
  nfr Htp s (Manuel de Codage: nfrHtps) - It has been suggested that this daughter named Neferhetepes was the mother of King Userkaf.