The name “King Tut” gives birth to images of powerful royal families of Egypt, of course, it does. Tutankhamun was the last great king of his lineage before the military rule took over the land, and one of the youngest rulers at that. However, the way we visualize this young king is quite different from the way he really looked.

It has also been found that his cause of death is incorrect as well.

So, who was “King Tut”? How did this young king meet his demise? The truth may surprise you!

The truth

Tutankhamun took the throne at the age of 9 years old. This child-man ruled Egypt until the age of 19, receiving respect above all in the land.

The popular consensus about his death, says that King Tut was killed in a chariot accident while riding out with his officials. This sounds like a normal incident for that day and age, but unfortunately, it is not true.

The truth is, Tutankhamun had a club foot. Within his tomb, there were countless walking sticks and even a pair of orthopaedic sandals, it is true!

Albert Zink, head of the Institute of Mummies and Icemen in Italy, had a strong opinion on this theory. He believed there was no way a child king could have stood upon that chariot and driven his horses.

It is also said that the leg on the same side had been broken previously as well. It would have been terribly uncomfortable, if not impossible, for Tutankhamun to be upon that chariot at all. It is quite apparent that death took him in some other way.

Zink told this opinion to the U.K. daily, the Independent, and was followed by other researchers who felt the same way.

“Apparently, King Tut had Koehler’s disease, ‘Death of the bones’, and Malaria”, said Ashraf Selim, an Egyptian radiologist. 

These are probably the culprits that took the young king from the throne.

More tests

The club foot was found by virtual autopsy. This same procedure of using over 2000 computerized tomography scans of the king’s face and body, also discovered that Tutankhamun wasn’t all that attractive either.

According to the evidence, King Tut had a pronounced overbite and lips like a woman. Wow! It seems that we were way off in our idea of Egyptian royalty. It seems that they were no less flawed than we are today.

One more fact

To top it off, Tutankhamun’s parents were siblings. Although this may not have been frowned upon at that time, it did contribute to the young king’s birth defects and obvious shortcomings.

Because his parents were siblings, “King Tut” was born with two doses of the royal lineage of flaws. Yes, the blood was pure, but the result was a young and weakening child to rule the land.

The rule of Tutankhamun ended in the 18th dynasty and gave way to military rule. Although there have been many facts discovered about this ruler, it is clear that his royal lineage was the greatest among Egypt’s royal families throughout history, despite its shortcomings.