Queen Nefertari as depicted on a wall in her tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV 66). She is the first of the Great Royal Wives of King Ramesses II, who reigned circa 1279-1213 BCE during the 19th Dynasty. Her name means "beautiful companion."
Her ancestry is not ascertained, but there is some evidence that she is connected to King Aye, who ruled for a short period after Tutankhamun. Some scholars have suggested that she was Aye's granddaughter. Others emphasize that she had no royal blood.
Nefertari married Ramesses when he was crown prince, and was either the same age as his (around 25) or slightly younger. She bore him four sons and four daughters. Although her sons were always preferred within the succession line to the king's other great royal wife (Queen Isetnofret), Egypt's reign eventually went to Merneptah, a son of Isetnofret.
In the year 24 of Ramesses II's long reign, Nefertari attended the opening ceremony of Abu Simbel temples and then she disappeared. She probably died the following year. Her husband's love for her had been manifested in these temples where she was represented by statues of the same size as his. This is one of few instances in Egyptian art where the king and his consort are sculpted in equal size.
Nefertari's tomb was looted in antiquity. What remains of her are three fragments of mummified legs, now in the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin, Italy.
Photo (edited for size): kairoinfo4u