What was known as a "sidelock of youth" in Ancient Egypt?

The sidelock of youth (also called a Horus lock, Prince's lock, Princess' lock, or side braid) was an identifying characteristic of the child in Ancient Egypt. It symbolically indicates that the wearer is a legitimate heir of Osiris. The sidelock was used as a divine attribute from at least as early as the Old Kingdom.

Based on the connection between sidelocks and children, Egyptologists coined the term "sidelock of youth". However, the name "sidelock of youth" is not entirely accurate, since it is usually a braid rather than a lock, with its end twisted into a spiral.

The sidelock of youth was used by the children of the pharaohs, not only to show them to be children, but also to indicate their connection to the youthful Horus. Like them, the young Horus had worn the sidelock as the heir apparent of his father Osiris.

In accordance with the mythological precedent, the children of the king, as his designated heirs, received the Horus lock as an indication of the special duties that were bound up with that status. In iconography, royal children were depicted naked and sucking on their finger, with their heads shaved entirely bald except for the sidelock.