Tut: Theory Of His Death

Tut could have been murdered. As Tut grew older he had an increasing desire to handle his own affairs and make his own decisions without Aye's help. Aye, being pushed into the background, decided that he wanted to be the new Pharaoh, so he arranged it so that a hired killer could slip past palace security and into the King's quarters and strike him down as he slept. Only a few people, including Aye, would have had the authority to arrange that with the guards. So sure he was of his plan's success, he even had himself painted wearing the Pharaoh's headdress during Tutankhamen's funeral as pictured on the wall of the Tutankhamen's tomb before the king was interred. With Tut out of the way and leaving no heir, Aye was in a position to put pressure on the King's widow to marry him, so that he could become Pharaoh. Ankhensenpaaten, who was not yet 20 years old, would have resented being forced to marry a man as old as Aye (who was about the same age as her grandfather). When she tried to do an end run around him by offering marriage to a foreign prince, he had the prince murdered before he ever arrived at the palace. Ultimately Aye was able to force the Queen to marry him and after the wedding she disappeared. Was this another murder?