The idea of kingship and the divinity of the pharaoh were central to Egyptian society and religion, with each king considered to be a combination of the divine and the mortal.

Ideally the kingship was passed down from father to son, and each king was usually keen to demonstrate to his subjects that he was the "chosen" heir whose right to rule was ensured by his own divinity. Reliefs in temples, tombs and palaces stress the King's divine birth and his function as a representative of the gods was to preserve and restore the original harmony of the universe, imposing order and preventing chaos.

Origins of the Pharaoh
The term "per-aa" means "great house" and developed via the Greek, into the word we now use today. "Per-aa" was originally used to describe the royal court or the state itself, in the sense that the "great house" was the entity responsible for the taxation of the lesser houses ("perw"), which were the temple lands and private estates. From the late 18th Dynasty and onwards, "per-aa" had begun to be used to refer to the actual king himself.

Famous Pharaohs
Many of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs have now achieved "household name" status, such as Tutankhamun the "boy King", Hatshepsut the "female pharaoh", Akhenaten the "heretic" king, Ramesses II "the great", Queen Cleopatra VII who's affair with Mark Anthony and the fall of Egypt to the Roman Empire, has become a Hollywood legend. Although not often thought of as an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great also took that title.

Other famous Ancient Egyptians include Nefertiti, the beautiful wife of Akhenaten and mother to his six daughters. She is often portrayed wearing a unique style of crown, and officiating in religious ceremonies alongside the king. In one instance she is even shown smiting a foreigner, a traditional pose of the pharaoh. The famous painted limestone bust of Nefertiti, now displayed in the Berlin Museum, was discovered in the workshop of the sculpture Thutmose at el-Amarna, by the German excavator Ludwig Borchardt.

Different Types of Royal Crowns
The White Crown - Hedjet. The crown of Upper Egypt is a tall white conical headpiece, and was depicted as early as c.3000 BC on the Narmer Palette, a mudstone ceremonial palette belonging to the Early Egyptian ruler Narmer. Picture shows golden statue of Tutankhamun wearing the white crown.

The Red Crown - Deshret. The crown of Lower Egypt is a chair shaped arrangement with a low front and tall back, from which protrudes a coil. The red crown is also depicted on the reverse side of the Narmer Palette. Picture shows a statue of Mentuhotep I (founder of the Middle Kingdom) discovered in a chamber beneath his temple tomb.

The Double Crown - Pschent. With the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, the red crown and the white crown were combined to become the double crown, known as the "Two Mighty Ones". Picture shows the god Horus wearing the double crown, a detail from the wall paintings in the tomb of Horemheb.

The Nemes Crown. More of a head-dress than a crown, probably most famously depicted on the gold mask of Tutankhamun. A piece of striped cloth was pulled tight across the forehead, tied into a kind of tail at the back whilst two strands hung down each side of the face. The brow was decorated with the uraeus Wadjet and the vulture Nekhbet. A plain version of this head-dress was known as a "khat". Statue shows Pepi I wearing the Nemes head-dress.

The Blue Crown - Khepresh. From the 18th Dynasty onwards, kings were often shown wearing the blue crown, often described as the "war crown". A tall flanged helmet, adorned with golden discs, with the uraeus and vulture on the brow. Picture shows Ramesses the Great wearing the blue crown of war.