There is little doubt that by the New Kingdom the king had more than one wife. Before this, it is not entirely clear whether the Egyptian kings were polygamous. The “harem” of Montuhotep II exemplifies the problem. It contains tombs for at least eight women, who are referred to as the wives of the king. However, it is also possible that only one of them was actually his wife. The others may have been priestesses of Hathor with whom he was married for cultic purposes, and one was his mother.
