The Coming of the Queen (novel)

 was a Big Finish novel released through their New Worlds imprint in 2005. Written by the originator of Erimem, Iain McLaughlin, and his frequent collaborator, Claire Bartlett, it was a kind of "origin tale" for the uncrowned pharaoh and latter-day Queen of Peladon.

The book centred on the palace intrigue that had occurred in the Egyptian court a few years before Erimem had met the Doctor and Peri. By expanding greatly on the scenario hinted at in The Eye of the Scorpion, it gave the reader a portrait the everyday aspects of her family life as a teenager. Since this impacted on her royalty, though, the novel also explained exactly why Erimem found herself in the position of being the most legitimate heir to her father, and why she was not well-remembered by modern historians.

Publisher's summary

 * An extraordinary discovery in the Valley of the Kings leaves historians bemused and asking the question…


 * …Who was Erimem?

The only daughter of the great Pharaoh Amenhotep II, Princess Erimemushinteperem has lived a comfortable, privileged life safe in Pharaoh's luxurious palace in Thebes, surrounded by servants, slaves and friends. But her sixteenth year will bring Erimem and her brothers into contact with war, death, treachery, assassins and tragedy, and will lead her to a destiny she had never imagined… or wanted.

Characters

 * Erimem
 * Pharaoh Amenhotep II
 * Thutmose, Amenhotep's oldest son
 * Princess Miral of the Mitanni
 * King Gadamere, father of Miral
 * General Antranak
 * Hanek, handmaiden of Erimem
 * Khofrek, a palace guard
 * Carra Wilton, an archaeologist
 * Fifth Doctor
 * Peri Brown

Continuity

 * This novel explains that Antranak was a personal mentor to Erimem, and not merely a guide for the Egyptian heir-apparent. He is shown here to be a close teacher to Erimem, even when her brothers are the more obvious heirs.