King Tutankhamen, Egypt's best-known pharaoh, was a frail youth who died due to "severe malaria" more than 3,000 years ago, researchers have said, following extensive DNA analysis on his remains.
Scientists from Egypt, Germany and elsewhere, have been conducting DNA tests and CT scans on King Tut's mummy for the past two years, uncovering new details of the young ruler's lineage.
In a study to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday, the scientists say the boy king was born with a cleft palate and clubfoot, and his parents were most likely brother and sister.
"This is how King Tut died, from severe malaria," Zahi Hawass, Egypt's senior archaeologist and co-author of the new study, said on Tuesday.
"We actually can say for the first time that we revealed the mystery behind the family of the Golden Boy - King Tut.
"He had severe necrosis and deformities in the toe of his left foot, and it caused him severe pain. This is why he was limping, he couldn't walk normally.
More at Al Jazeera
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