Book of the Forgotten: the Bearded Queen

Chapter 10

I was born the daughter of Thutmose I; a princess of Egypt, highest born daughter of the Pharaoh, and in training to be the High Priestess of Egypt, God's Wife of Amun. As part of my training, I was taught to read and write, and I was as educated as any boy my age. I was wealthy, living a lavish and spoiled life, and I was as powerful as a woman could be in this reality.

However, when my father died, I was still young and unmarried, and I was now only a daughter of a dead pharaoh. I had no power, no wealth, and no future if I did not act. I married my half-brother, Thutmose II, a common practice of our people. I became Queen of Egypt, but it was merely a title and I was not his only wife. A common practice of our time is for the Pharaoh to have his Great Wife and to have many concubines, which ensures that one of his wives will give birth to a son. When Thutmose, who always was an unhealthy child, died not long after our marriage, he left his son, birthed by a concubine, to rule.

Thutmose III was a baby when his father died. I knew what would happen if I became no more than his Regent ruler. There were many who would fight to take the throne from him, and what could he do? He was a baby. The throne would be taken from our family, and I could not – would not allow it. So, I made my decision, and I made my first move: I named myself Regent, the ruler of Egypt until the boy would be old enough.

I had artists depict scenes where I interacted directly with the gods, something no woman had ever done. I conspired with priests, who are some of the most powerful men in Egypt, and I whispered in their ears that my ascension was the will of the gods. They spread stories that the god Amun had appeared to my mother on the night I was conceived to reveal that I was his chosen Pharaoh. I had lived my whole life in the great palaces of Egypt and in the holy temples. I knew the way our country worked, and I knew who held the most influence. I also knew the beliefs and values that were held by my people.

They knew that the throne of Egypt was occupied by a vessel of the god Osiris, thus I had to convince them that I, like many Pharaohs before me, was that vessel. I took to wearing the beard and dressing as a man. It was not an attempt to change my identity, but to show to the people of Egypt that I was the chosen ruler and when the time came, I declared myself the sole ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt; I declared myself Pharaoh, and they accepted me.

I will do great things for my people and for my kingdom, and though history may write differently, I will be great.