When we think of the term "Boy King", most people instantly think of King Tut. However, there are many "boy kings" throughout the history of the world. King Tut wasn’t the only boy king of the ancient Egyptians. Pharaoh Pepe II ruled Egypt for more than 60 years, after ascending to the throne at the age of 6. In ancient Rome, Gordian III was named Emperor in 238 AD, at the age of 13. King Joash ruled the kingdom of Judah for 37 years, after taking his rightful place as ruler at the tender age of 7. King Alexander III of Scotland was born in 1241 AD and became king only 8 years later. Though they were only figureheads until they were old enough to rule on their own, many of histories great civilizations were ruled by boy kings.

  During an archaeological expedition in the late 1890's, a ceremonial macehead was found depicting a king known as "Scorpion". It comes from a time before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, and shows the king wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. The macehead had been decorated on all sides, but most has been badly damaged and is hard to read. King Scorpion is shown holding a hoe, which may depict him preparing the fields or breaking away the dams in order to flood the fields. Not much is known about this king, and much speculation surrounds it. One thing is certain, the real Scorpion King wasn’t half man and half arachnid, and he wasn’t a muscle bound professional wrestler. He was a real king of Egypt.

  One of them most well known stories to come out of the British Isles is that of an ancient king named Arthur. In 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the chronicles of the Kings of Britain, and included the story of King Arthur. It was said that he was the greatest king in British history, and that when England needed him most, he would return. However, there was little else written about him. In recent years, though, evidence has come about that leads scholars to believe that these stories were based on a real person. There are a few references to a 5th or 6th century general by the name of Ambrosius, who helped the Britons fight against the Anglo-Saxons. Also, according to the story, King Arthur was born at Tintagel castle in what is now Cornwall. Among the ruins of this castle, an engraved slate was found bearing the name, "Arthnou", leaving many thinking that this could be a reference to King Arthur.

One of Shakespeare’s greatest works was the story of MacBeth, a tyrannical king of Scotland. However, the real King MacBeth was born in 1005 AD, grandson of Malcolm II. His father was murdered in 1020 AD and in 1034 AD, his cousin Duncan was crowned king of Scotland. Duncan was a power hungry leader who spent most of the next 6 years in battle. In 1040 AD, Duncan died in battle and MacBeth was crowned high king. He was seen as a peaceful and benevolent king, and ruled for 17 years. He died in 1057 AD when Duncan’s son, Malcolm MacDuncan, claimed his right to the throne. He was crowned kind in 1058 AD as Malcolm III. The death of MacBeth is seen as the end of the Celtic way of life in Scotland.

In ancient Egypt, many women were as powerful as any man could be. One of the most famous of these women was the step-mother of King Tutankhamun, Queen Nefertiti. Her husband, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, was known as the heretic king as he disposed of the normal pantheon of gods and worshiped only one god, the Aten. Her name meant "The Beautiful One is Come" and was thought to be the most beautiful woman of her time. She was displayed as being an equal to her husband and ruled beside him in all manners, even driving her own chariot. Her mummy has never been found, however, a colorful bust of her image was found buried in an ancient workshop and has been housed in a museum in Berlin, Germany.