Born to a commoner priest and a queen’s servant, Tiye gained political power when she became the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

As Queen, Tiye was known to advise her husband on politics and foreign affairs. She held multiple administrative posts and her documented intelligence and wisdom earned her the status of the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts—one even being the official notice that her husband had married another woman.

When her son Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten) assumed the throne, and moved the capital to Amarna, she went with him. She continued to serve as a valued advisor and political influence.