Although Moore created many family groups throughout his career, King and Queen is unusual in depicting regal subjects rather than universal representations of humanity. The work was inspired by an Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum of a court official and his wife. The idea developed from a piece of wax, which Moore was manipulating, transforming into a ‘pan-like’ head.

The ‘King and Queen’ is rather strange. Like many of my sculptures, I can’t explain exactly how it evolved. Anything can start me off on a sculpture idea, and in this case it was playing with a small piece of modelling wax. … Whilst manipulating a piece of wax, it began to look like a horned, Pan-like, bearded head. Then it grew a crown and I recognised it immediately as the head of a king. I continued, and gave it a body. When wax hardens, it is almost as strong as metal. I used this special strength to repeat in the body the aristocratic refinement I found in the head. Then I added a second figure to it and it became a ‘King and Queen’. I realised now that it was because I was reading stories to Mary, my six-year-old daughter, every night, and most of them were about kings and queens and princesses.
Henry Moore in Henry Spencer Moore, photographed and edited by John Hedgecoe, words by Henry Moore, Nelson, London: Simon and Schuster, New York 1968, p.221