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After Cleopatra VII, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (1370-1330 BC) may be the most widely recognized Queen from ancient Egyptian history, in no small part due to her distinctive flat-topped blue crown. She would have been the Great Royal Wife of the “Heretic” Pharaoh Akhenaten, who is most infamous for trying to replace the traditional Egyptian religion with one venerating a solar deity called the Aten (with the Pharaoh himself being held as Aten’s son and therefore earthly representative, of course). It is in fact possible that, after Akhenaten’s death, Nefertiti would have become Pharaoh herself for a short period of time.
When depicting Nefertiti, I wanted her to look a little devious, like she would have been Akhenaten’s “partner in crime” while he was on the throne. It’s my belief that the whole Atenism thing was a simple power grab on Akhenaten’s part to suppress competition with the Egyptian priestly class, particularly the Priests of Amun who had previously exerted a lot of influence on the country’s politics. And by all accounts, Nefertiti would have been a major supporter and ally to her husband’s schemes during his reign, especially since art from the period frequently shows them and their family worshiping the Aten together.
I actually do have Nefertiti along with Akhenaten himself appear in a short story I wrote titled Mayhem in the Menagerie . I’ll just say that something very embarrassing happens to her crown towards the end of the story.

Description

After Cleopatra VII, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (1370-1330 BC) may be the most widely recognized Queen from ancient Egyptian history, in no small part due to her distinctive flat-topped blue crown. She would have been the Great Royal Wife of the “Heretic” Pharaoh Akhenaten, who is most infamous for trying to replace the traditional Egyptian religion with one venerating a solar deity called the Aten (with the Pharaoh himself being held as Aten’s son and therefore earthly representative, of course). It is in fact possible that, after Akhenaten’s death, Nefertiti would have become Pharaoh herself for a short period of time.
When depicting Nefertiti, I wanted her to look a little devious, like she would have been Akhenaten’s “partner in crime” while he was on the throne. It’s my belief that the whole Atenism thing was a simple power grab on Akhenaten’s part to suppress competition with the Egyptian priestly class, particularly the Priests of Amun who had previously exerted a lot of influence on the country’s politics. And by all accounts, Nefertiti would have been a major supporter and ally to her husband’s schemes during his reign, especially since art from the period frequently shows them and their family worshiping the Aten together.
I actually do have Nefertiti along with Akhenaten himself appear in a short story I wrote titled Mayhem in the Menagerie . I’ll just say that something very embarrassing happens to her crown towards the end of the story.