Quick answer
Queen Tiye was the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III, married around 1388 BC, and the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. Born to a non-royal family from Akhmim, she became one of the most influential queens in Egyptian history, corresponding with foreign kings. Her mummy, known as the Elder Lady, was identified by DNA in 2010.
Who was Queen Tiye?
Tiye was the chief wife of Amenhotep III for almost four decades, and she was shown and named alongside him more often than any earlier queen beside her husband. She married the young king around his second year on the throne, about 1388 BC, when both were probably in their early teens. Her name appears with his on official scarabs, in temple reliefs and even in diplomatic correspondence, and statues show her at the same scale as the king, a sign of real status rather than decorative presence.
She outlived her husband by a decade or more and was a respected elder at the court of her son, Akhenaten, before dying around his 12th to 14th year, about 1338 BC.
Her children included Prince Thutmose, the crown prince who died before his father; the future Amenhotep IV; and the princesses Sitamun, Isis, Henuttaneb and Nebetah, with Beketaten probably a late-born daughter. Sitamun was later raised to the rank of Great Royal Wife by her own father, a title that reflected court status and may not mean what it would today.
Was Tiye really a commoner?
Yes: she was not of royal blood, and the king announced the marriage on a scarab that proudly names her parents, Yuya and Tjuyu. They were a wealthy, well-connected family from Akhmim in Middle Egypt. Yuya was a commander of chariotry and a priest of the god Min; Tjuyu was a priestess and head of the women of Min’s temple. Tiye’s brother Anen became Second Prophet of Amun at Karnak, and many scholars think Ay, the courtier who later became pharaoh after Tutankhamun, was another brother, though this is not proven.
In 1905 the tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu, KV46, was found in the Valley of the Kings almost intact, the most complete non-royal burial discovered there before Tutankhamun’s. It held their gilded coffins, masks, a chariot, beds and chairs, giving a rare picture of how the queen’s family lived and were buried.
How powerful was Tiye?
Tiye had genuine political influence, and foreign kings knew it: after Amenhotep III died, the king of Mitanni wrote directly to her to make sure Egypt’s friendship would continue. In that letter, preserved among the Amarna Letters, Tushratta asks Tiye to remind her son of the close ties he had enjoyed with her husband, and appeals to her as the person who knew the old agreements best. Few queens of any ancient kingdom are addressed in this way.
In Egypt, she was given her own cult. At Sedeinga in Nubia (now in Sudan), Amenhotep built a temple where she was worshipped as a form of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut, a counterpart to his own temple at Soleb nearby. Her steward Kheruef decorated his Theban tomb with scenes of her at the king’s jubilee, standing just behind the throne.
What was her role in the Amarna revolution?
As Akhenaten’s mother, Tiye bridged the old court and the new, and she visited his new capital at Amarna, but whether she supported his religious revolution is debated. The tomb of her steward Huya at Tell el-Amarna shows her dining with Akhenaten and Nefertiti, and Akhenaten built a sunshade temple for her there. Some historians see her as a moderating influence on her son; others think she embraced the cult of the Aten, which had roots in her husband’s court.
After her death, Akhenaten had a gilded wooden shrine made for her burial. Parts of it were later found in the puzzling tomb KV55, suggesting her body was moved at least once. Where she was first buried, perhaps at Amarna or with her husband in WV22, is still argued over. For the wider story, see our guide to the Amarna period.
How was Tiye’s mummy identified?
Through a lock of hair and, eventually, DNA: the unidentified “Elder Lady” found in 1898 was confirmed as Tiye by genetic testing published in 2010. The trail began in Tutankhamun’s tomb, where Howard Carter found a nest of miniature coffins holding a plait of hair inscribed with Tiye’s name, a family keepsake buried with her grandson. In 1976 researchers compared it with the hair of an anonymous older woman from the royal mummy cache in tomb KV35 and reported a close match.
The DNA study confirmed that the Elder Lady was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu, whose mummies are securely identified, and the mother of the man buried in KV55. Some scientists have questioned the methods used on ancient royal DNA, but the identification is now widely accepted.
Where to see Queen Tiye in Egypt today
Her mummy and her portraits are in Cairo, and her husband’s monuments in Luxor still carry her image.
- National Museum of Egyptian Civilization: the Elder Lady was moved here in the 2021 Pharaohs’ Golden Parade and, at the time of writing, lies in the Royal Mummies Hall, her long hair still visible.
- Egyptian Museum, Tahrir: the colossal seated group of Tiye and Amenhotep III, about 7 m high, and a tiny green stone head of the queen from Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai. The gilded burial goods of Yuya and Tjuyu have also been shown here; check whether they have moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
- Colossi of Memnon: standing figures of Tiye and of the king’s mother Mutemwia flank the legs of the statues.
- Tombs of the Nobles: Kheruef’s tomb shows Tiye at the jubilee, but it is not routinely open; ask your guide.
Her most famous portrait, a small yew-wood head with a downturned mouth and heavy-lidded eyes, is in Berlin.
Frequently asked questions
Was Queen Tiye Tutankhamun’s grandmother?
Yes. DNA studies published in 2010 identified her as the mother of the man in tomb KV55, who was the father of Tutankhamun. A lock of her hair was buried in Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Is Queen Tiye the same Tiye who plotted against Ramesses III?
No. That Tiye was a secondary wife of Ramesses III who lived about 200 years later and led a conspiracy to put her son on the throne.
Was Tiye Nefertiti’s mother?
No, though they were related by marriage: Tiye was Nefertiti’s mother-in-law. If Ay was Tiye’s brother and Nefertiti’s father, as some suggest, Tiye was also Nefertiti’s aunt, but neither link is proven.
Where is Queen Tiye’s mummy?
At the time of writing it is displayed in the Royal Mummies Hall of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo, where it was moved in April 2021.
Why is Tiye considered so important?
She was a non-royal woman who became the most visible queen of her time, wrote and received diplomatic letters, was worshipped in her own temple in Nubia, and linked the reign of Amenhotep III to the Amarna age that followed.
