Queen Tuya (The Prince of Egypt)

Queen Tuya is a minor yet pivotal character of the 1998 film The Prince of Egypt.
She was the queen of Egypt, the wife and consort of Seti I, the mother of Ramses II and the adoptive mother of Moses. When Moses was a baby, his mother Yocheved set Moses adrift in a basket. The basket ended up at the palace where Moses was found by Tuya and raised as her own son.
Tuya was voiced by Helen Mirren, who also played Mother Ginger in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and her singing voice by Linda Dee Shayne.
==Personality==
Unlike her husband, Tuya was very kind and loving like when she discovered and adopted Moses. This is shown when she made Seti stop scolding Ramses which shows that they do love each other. This was also shown when she recognized the baby Moses’ ethnicity right away, but still took him in and loved him as her own son, as well as silencing the witnesses there of the discovery. She tried to assure Moses that he really belonged in Egypt when he discovered his true heritage. Up until Moses discovered his heritage, it can be implied that Tuya served as a morality chain of sorts for him, shown when he immediately regretted his actions at the banquet (humiliating Tzipporah. once he saw her look away from him in shame. Despite caring for Moses even though she knew who he was, it is unknown how she viewed her husband’s genocide of Hebrews or the Hebrews in general. It can be implied she doesn’t entirely agree with the view on them, or at the very least did not approve of further tormenting slaves, as shown when she showcased her disappointment with Moses publicly humiliating Tzipporah. At the same time, however, she didn’t seem to particularly empathize with the enslaved people, nor did she do anything to stop her husband from committing infanticide or help the situation, and once her youngest son discovered he was indeed one of them, Tuya mistakenly went the same route as her husband by advising Moses to just forget he was Hebrew and be content as the Prince of Egypt, albeit far more soothingly (and moral-minded) than Seti did. Tuya was also shown to have the same worship of the Gods her people had, as she did not question why Moses was sent to her family and instead tried to set the same belief of the gods’ will on Moses, reminding him that he was still their son and a Prince of Egypt, although there have been debates over whether or not this was a good move considering the later events that set in motion, such Moses’ own self discovery and dedication to help his true people (birth family) that ironically devastated Egypt (his adoptive family) in the process, all of which were under the will of Moses’ God. This goes to show that while still a loving mother, Tuya was still flawed in the sense that her inaction and inability to realize the cons of her advice could still affect people, especially her loved ones. 
==Biography==
===Film===
Tuya is first seen with a toddler Ramses until the basket containing a baby boy (who was sent adrift on a river by his mother Yocheved to protect him from Seti who ordered all male babies to be thrown into the Nile out of fear of a rebellion.) arrived at the palace where Tuya discovers the baby, adopts him and names him Moses.
Around 18 years later, Tuya is present when after Moses and Ramses destroyed a temple while racing through it, Seti scolds them for this but takes his anger at Ramses by calling him a "weak link" but Tuya makes him end the scolding. However, Moses requests that Ramses be given a chance to prove himself in which Seti agrees. Tuya then was at the banquet where Ramses was appointed Prince Regent and Moses as Royal Chief Architect. However, when Moses humiliates Tzipporah by letting her fall into a pond, Tuya becomes disappointed in Moses which makes him regret his actions.
Later on, after Moses discovers his true heritage, Tuya admits that he is not truly her son but tries to assure him that he really belongs in Egypt due to the gods sending him there.
Tuya is not seen for the rest of the film implying that like her husband, she passed away sometime between Moses leaving Egypt and before he returned. 
===Musical===
Tuya appears in the stage adaptation of the film.
Her role remains the same as in the film though in this version, she is shown to still be alive after Ramses becomes Pharaoh where it is revealed that Tuya became reclusive after Seti's death. She also gains a daughter-in-law named Nefertari, who was betrothed to Ramses by Seti. After Moses returns to Egypt, Tuya summons him and urges him to repair his relationship with Ramses, although sadly, this does not come to pass (at least, not permanently).
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
===Images===
Tuya's_First_Appearance.png|Tuya with toddler Ramses.
Tuya_Discovering_Basket.png|Tuya discovering the basket containing baby Moses.
Tuya_About_to_Open_Basket.png
Tuya_Opening_Basket.png
Tuya_Discovering_Moses.png|Tuya discovers baby Moses and becomes smitten with him.
Prince-of-egypt-disneyscreencaps.com-651.jpg.png
Prince-of-egypt-disneyscreencaps.com-672.png
Tuya_Kissing_Baby_Moses.png
Tuya_Holding_Baby_Moses_Close.png
Tuya_Adopting_Baby_Moses.png|Tuya happily adopts baby Moses.
Prince-of-egypt-disneyscreencaps.com-697.png
Tuya_with_Toddler_Ramses.png
Tuya_With_Her_Two_Sons.png
Tuya_Naming_Moses.png|Tuya names her adoptive son, Moses.
===Videos===
The Prince of Egypt (1998) - Deliver Us Scene (1 10) Movieclips
== Trivia==
*In the original story, it is Pharaoh's daughter (who is revealed to be Bithiah) who discovers and adopts Moses.
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