RE: I always knew that 3 wise men was just a guess.
So, how did the Wise Men morph into “Kings” ( as in the Christmas Carol )?
My dad, a retired Lutheran pastor, says that there were 15-18 wise men. Many people assume that there were three wise men, since Matthew said that they gave three gifts. My dad also says that Jesus was about two, when the wise men found him. The star appeared when Jesus was born, and the wise men came from present-day India.
First, I think there were complex family ties between the priestly class and the royal/noble class in Persia, so there might not have been much distinction between a magus and a prince.
Second, there was a readiness to see this historic incident as a fulfillment o the prophecy (in Psalm 72:10) about who among the Gentiles would be moved to greet the Messiah: "The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts, the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute."