Thutmose I died in year 12 month 9, when Hatshepsut would have been approximately 12 years old. She would have been married to her half brother Thutmose II who would also have been about 12 or 13 years old. Hatshepsut had her first and only child, a daughter called Nefer-ru-re at aged 14 not long before the death of her husband. Thutmosis II also had a son by a minor wife, called Isis who became Thutmosis III. Thutmosis II died in 1504BC and Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III co-ruled. As he reigned for 54 years it is likely he was a very young boy when his father died.
Despite the important role that she played and the extent in which her prominence grew after the death of her husband, at the start of the co-reign she used traditional queenly although after year 2 of the co-regency, she started using titles modelled on those of kings for example 'Mistress of the Two Lands'. Some of her activities were those normally reserved for kings. For example she dedicated two obelisks at Karnak temple which was an act of kingship rather than that of a Queen and was recorded at her nmortuary temple at Deir el Bahri. She is also shown making offerings directly to the gods which was also an act reserved for the king in his role as High Priest. After Year 7 of the reign of Thutmosis III she completely abandoned her queenly titles and adopted the five fold titulary of a king and is shown on monuments wearing the masculine attire of a king including the false beard. Her chief steward Senenmut served the family during the reign of Thutmosis II and served Hatshepsut during her reign. He came from humble origins but grew in favour, some say due to His intimate relations with Hatshepsut. He was tutor to her daughter, as well as being the highest administrative official of the period. He was responsible for building her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri, which was primarily dedicated to Amun, but also had a chapel dedicated to Hathor, and to Anubis.
In order to reinforce her claim to the throne Hatshepsut needed to prove that she was the daughter of a deity and therefore chosen by the god to become king after her father. At Deir el Bahri, in the Middle Terrace of her mortuary temple, she records her divine birth, where the god Amun-Ra is seen impregnating her mother Ahmose with Hatshepsut. Also at Deir el Bahri she records a coronation on New Years Day, during the reign of her father Thutmosis I where he declares her co-ruler with him in order to make it clear that she was the designated heir to the throne. However, this coronation did not actually happen and was a propagandistic tool to reinforce her claim using the power of her dead father who was still greatly revered. On the fallen obelisk at Karnak at the top she is shown kneeling before the god Amun as he stretches his hand out towards her declaring her king although she kind of suggests that it was against her will. "He made me rule the Black Land and the Red Land"
By year 22 of the reign of Thutmosis III she completely disappeared from inscriptions and monuments which indicates that Tuthmosis was reigning alone by this point. However, whether she died naturally, was assassinated, or forcibly removed is unknown. No body has been discovered although it has been suggested that the Elder Lady in the Tomb of Amenhotep II may have been her, as the head shape is very similar to the Thutmoside line, which all have the characteristic elongated skull, which became more and more pronounced later in the reign due to extensive in-breeding.
By year 22 of Thutmosis III all records of Hatshepsut had been erased and her name was not added to the later king lists ensuring that her reign would be forgotten. For more information click here