Hatshepsut ─ The Princess Who Became King

The favorite child of a popular pharaoh, after the death of her two brothers, Hatshepsut was in a unique position to gain the throne upon the death of her father. Hatshepsut married her half-brother, who soon died. Her stepson inherited the throne, but was too young to rule. Hatshepsut served as regent, and within a few years had herself crowned pharaoh alongside her stepson. To quell the fears of her people, unused to a female ruler, she became a king in all statuary and artwork during her reign. She even dressed in the traditional garb of male rulers: the shendyt kilt, the nemes headdress with its khat headcloth, and the false beard. Although there were no wars during her reign, Hatshepsut proved her sovereignty by ordering expeditions to Punt, in present-day Somalia, in search of the ivory, animals, spices, gold, and aromatic trees that Egyptians coveted. In a final bid to be recognized as a legitimate queen, Hatshepsut constructed a fabulous temple in the Valley of the Kings, of all places, by a tall plateau at Deir-el-Bahri, across the Nile from Thebes. Hatshepsut was a master politician, and an elegant stateswoman with enough charisma to keep control of an entire country for twenty years. Her funerary temple still stands as a tribute to her incredible rise to power.

Ellen Galford has written and edited illustrated books for adults and younger readers on a wide variety of subjects, including archaeology, ancient and medieval social history, costume, genealogy, folklore and mythology, and the history of the Olympic Games. A former college lecturer, newspaper journalist, and broadcaster, she is also the author of several novels and has written fiction and nonfiction pieces for many anthologies.