Henutmire was an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian princess and queen. She was one of the eight

Great Royal Wives Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife () is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official functions. Description While most ancient Egyptians were monogamous, a ...

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often reg ...

of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt.

Life

She is supposedly the third and youngest child of Seti I and

Tuya A tuya is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were covered by glaciers and had active volcanism during the same period. As lava ...

, and the younger sister of

and Tia. This theory is based on a statue of Queen Tuya, now in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. The statue shows Tuya with Henutmire, thus it is assumed that they were mother and daughter. However, she is nowhere mentioned as "King's Sister", a title which Princess Tia used, thus it is unclear whether she was a younger sister or a daughter of Ramesses. Her name means "The lady is like

Rê Ra is the Sun-god of Ancient Egypt. Ra or RA may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Ra (Stargate), a character from the film ''Stargate'', based on the Egyptian god * ''Ra'' (1972 film), a 1972 documentary film about ...

". She married Ramesses II and became Great Royal Wife; if she was his daughter, she was the fourth to do so, after

Bintanath Bintanath (also Bentanath) was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II, born by his second spouse Isetnofret. Family Bintanath was likely born during the reign of her grandfather Seti I. Her mother, most ...

Meritamen Meritamen (also spelled ''Meritamon'', ''Meritamun, Merytamen, Merytamun, Meryt-Amen''; ancient Egyptian: ''Beloved of Amun'') was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great, born by his first queen Nefertari. Family ...

and Nebettawy. She is shown on statues of Ramesses from

Abukir Abu Qir (, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located on Abu Qir Peninsula, with Abu Qir ...

and Heliopolis. On a colossus from Hermopolis she is depicted together with Princess-Queen Bintanath. Both have the titles The Hereditary Princess, richly favoured, Mistress of the South and the North, King's Daughter, Great Royal Wife.

Death and burial

She died around Ramesses' 40th regnal year, and was buried in the tomb QV75. Her tomb was robbed already in antiquity; the trough of her coffin was later used for the burial of priest-king Harsiese in

Medinet Habu Medinet Habu (; ; ; ) is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. Although other structures are located within the area and important disco ...

. It is now in the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

.Dodson & Hilton, p.170

Sources

External links

Queen Henutmire
{{Queens of Ancient Egypt 13th-century BC Egyptian women Wives of Ramesses II Seti I Princesses of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt