Queen Nefertari wife of Ramsis II

Queen of Ramsis’s heart

Among the great number of women married by Ramsses II, he had four main royal wives:
The Great Royal Wife Queen Nefertari, the Great Royal Wife Queen Isetneferet. He married also his own daughter, Bent-nta and the Hittite princess, Ma’t-Hor-Neferw-R.
Ramsses was married to his two first wives, Isetneferet and Nefertari, when he was still a crown prince under his father Sety I. It seems however, that Nefertari had the superiority in her husband’s heart, since Ramsses himself describes her saying that her beauty is incomparable among his harem. The origin of Nefertari is still obscure. Considering her titles, we may assume that she was not a royal daughter,

since she had never bore the title + s3t nswt “the Royal Daughter”. According to the epithet “Mry Muf”, included in her cartouche as well as her title D oe rp’tt “princess”, it may be said that she was a daughter of a high ranked Theban family. Ramsses married Nefertari in an early time of his reign. The queen bore him a number of children.

Nefertari the first lady

Nefertari played an active role as a First Lady. Since the first year of Ramsses’s sole reign, she assisted the appointment of Nebwenef as a high priest of Amon. In Ramsses 21 year, queen Nefertari assisted the peace treaty between Ramsses and the Hittite king Hanosil III, and she exchanged messages with his wife Badokheba. As well, Ramsses expressed his deep love to his wife, by representing her beside him in several scenes. He sculpted for her a big number of statues and dedicated a temple for her name in Nubia, in addition to her magnificent tomb,
which is considered the most beautiful tomb in the Valley of the Queens.
Her recently restored tomb in the valley of the queens (QV 660 )is one of the wonders of ancient Thebes (Luxor)
Concerning the death of Nefertari, it was probably in the year 24 of Ramsses II, or a little after, since the last monument mentioning her was a stela sculpted by the viceroy of in kush, Heka-nakht, to the south of the façade of the Great temple of Abu Simbel.