King Smenkhkare is thought to have ascended to the throne either in the latter years, or after the death of Akhenaten. Very little is known about his reign which appears to have been quite short. A mummy found in tomb KV55 in the valley of the kings is thought to be his, although the evidence is by no means conclusive and a lot of lively debate continues on the subject.

This body was found in a coffin which had the royal cartouche hacked out making a positive identification impossible.

The coffin appears to have been originally intended for a woman and may have been hastily adapted to accommodate the short lived Pharaoh. This is an assumption which the reported discovery of a piece of gold foil bearing Smenkhkare's cartouche stolen from the tomb when it was opened would seem to confirm.