During this time, Neferneferuaten's older sister Meritaten served as her great royal spouse.But Meritaten didn't keep that "great royal spouse" title for long.

Some 21st-century scholars believe that about five years before his death, Akhenaten elevated his great royal wife to co-king and gave her a new name: Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.

Neferneferuaten and Meritaten would have shared the same coronation name, Angenot noted. Plus, a "female pharaoh" was not without precedent, as Egypt had already been ruled by Hatshepsut and ...

Archaeologists have known that a "mystery female pharaoh" ruled ancient Egypt before the renowned King Tutankhamun ascended the throne. Though they knew the royal name of this female king — ...