Because Hatshepsut's stepson Tuthmosis III was very young when his father died, he originally took power with Hatshepsut as his advisor because Hatshepsut knew all about what to do as Pharaoh. Later she declared herself as Pharaoh until Tuthmosis III was ready to take over again. .
The known date of Hatshepsut's crowning is unknown because Tuthmosis III was originally Pharaoh and because the years begin at year 1 again when the Pharaoh's reign begins. She was the first female to become a Pharaoh because none of the other females were actually thought of as Pharaoh. Since Hatshepsut had no husband any more and the wife of the pharaoh had important roles in ceremonies, her daughter Neferure acted as the wife. Then Neferure married Tuthmosis III (Hatshepsut: Her Majesty, Herself 4-20). .
Hatshepsut did not wait for Tuthmosis III to become old enough to be Pharaoh. She kept her power for a long time, raging from 15 to 22 years, which is not definite, considering she was a woman and her stepson was becoming impatient. It was tough for her to keep her power. With her propaganda and good political tricks, she kept her reign and solved many problems. What she did to keep people believing in her was pretending to act and dress like a man. She wore a beard. By saying she was a daughter of a god, people believed in her more. She used her father's followers to fallow her. Since there was no term for a female king, she was considered a Pharaoh, or king, and dressed and acted like a male Pharaoh would. One of her greatest accomplishments was her expedition to Punt, which is present-day Somalia. In return of animals, spices, aromatic tree, the Egyptians trade gold and other valuables to Punt (Millmore, Mark). .
She was also a great politician. While keeping control of the Egypt people for about 20 years she accomplished many things. To keep order she said she was the child of a god. With the support of Tuthmosis I, her father and a great and well-liked ruler, she had a lot of followers.