How to Be an Egyptian Queen to Others

Egyptian queens were said to be clever and beautiful, but most of all incredibly powerful. People belived they were godesses. Here are a few tips to make sure that your friends and family recognise that, deep down, you are an Egyptian Queen too.

Steps

1. Look the part. Float around in a white tunic, strappy sandals and dozens of bracelets. Most female pharaohs also wore a false beard - that's one tradition you might want to avoid. Egypt was a hot country, so nudity was completely normal and even royalty wore as little as possible. Your clothing should be made of linen or cotton and very light. If you can get away with it, don't wear a top.
   
2. Wear lots of make-up. Especially lots of heavy black eyeliner (learn to apply kohl) and a little bit of green eyeshadow. Male and female Egyptians wore eye makeup to repel flies. The green color comes from malachite powder. Personal appearance was so important that jars of makeup were put in tombs so the dead would have them in the next life. Even poor people were buried with a little makeup!
   
3. Use cinnamon, lily, lotus and myrrh essential oils as perfume and deodorant.
   
4. Insist on writing everything in hieroglyphs on rolls of papyrus. This will probably take a while, but if you actually learn how to read and write hieroglyphs, that's a very impressive and unique skill!
   
5. Request a pet goose for your next birthday. Failing that, a cat is just as good or better. Cats were sacred in Egypt. A cat or two is almost required for Egyptian royalty.
   
6. Avoid the risk of being poisoned by rivals who are eager to get their hands on your crown. Get a slave to taste your food before you eat anything (a younger brother is ideal). Tell the person who cooked your food that you don't mean to be rude but you just can't risk it.
   
7. Build an obelisk in the garden. This is a narrow, tall, stone monument with a pyramid shape at the top. It should have your name and good deeds carved upon it.
   
8. Also have a small pond installed in the garden, and have blue lotuses planted in it.
   
9. Create a cartouche. This is a seal with your name in hieroglyphics surrounded by an oval. There are sealing wax shops that create seals to order that will be happy to make this up for you.
   
10. Demand that four friends pick up your chair and carry you whenever you pop to the shops. Even better, get carried around on a big golden throne. People will probably not listen to you, and some might even get annoyed, but it is the demanding that will show people you actually believe you're a queen.
    
11. Bathe in milk. Maybe it isn't such a good idea to fill the whole bath up with loads of milk - just add a cup full to the water. You can also purchase bulk dry milk powder and add that to your baths. Cleopatra also used rose petals and essential oil.
    
12. Go to kemet.org to learn the gods and goddesses of Egypt and how to worship them. Egyptian royalty were also the high priests and priestesses. Paying proper respect to the gods sets a good example to your adoring subjects.
    
13. Don't forget to arrange to be mummified after you die. Once you have gone to your reward in the garden of Ra, your body will need to be preserved in a nice tomb. Lots of gifts, food and everyday supplies should be buried with you so you can take them to the next life. Your subjects can lay offerings at your tomb and pray to you long after you're gone.
    

Tips

• Egyptian Queens often had to marry their brothers - this is a tradition you should probably ignore!
  

Warnings

• This will get very annoying to your peers after a while.