The position and importance of the son of a king varied over time. In the Old Kingdom, the extended family of the king held most of the high positions of authority in the Egyptian bureaucracy, so even a minor king’s son might hold a position of some power. As time went on, the noble class took over these roles and the family of the king was to some degree pushed out of the limelight. While the eldest son and heir obviously held a degree of power, and in some cases shared a co-regency with his father, younger sons would most likely end up in the army or acting as a governor.
