Queen

   The wife of the king. The most common term for the position was hmt nswt, or “king’s wife,” and from the Second Intermediate Period onward, the term hmt nswt wrt, or “king’s great wife,” was used to denote the chief queen. Other terms were used, particularly during the Old Kingdom. It appears that there was normally only one chief queen at a time, although Ramesses II may have bestowed this title more frequently. The king appears to have had a relatively free choice of wives, although many women were picked for political reasons. The king was not obliged to marry his sister, and the heiressconcepthas been shown to be false. Kings may have married their sisters to enhance their divine status, as the gods married their sisters. Similarly, Amenhotep III and Ramesses II appear to have granted the title of queen to some of their daughters, although it remains unclear whether such marriages were honorific. The son of the chief queen may have been favored in the royal succession, but the known succession of sons of minor queens and concubines indicates that this was not necessarily always the case. The king’s mother, if a minor wife, was then raised to the status of chief queen.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier