Middle School
Worksheets
Queen Victoria
Victoria Day
Reading Comprehension for May 20
Imagine being raised with almost no friends. That would be very lonely, especially for a young girl who would one day be a queen. Some people think that being a princess would be the most wonderful thing in the world, but that is not always true. However, Princess Victoria overcame her lonely childhood to become one of the greatest queens of Britain.
Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 in England. Her father was Edward, Duke of Kent. He was the fourth son of King George III. Her mother was Victoria Maria Louise from Saxe-Coburg in Germany. When Victoria was only eight months old, her father died.
When she was just a small child, it was obvious that the young princess would one day become queen. Her mother wanted to have some of the power behind the throne, so she and her close friend, Sir John Conroy, made sure Victoria had no close friends her own age. She was educated by her governess and was not allowed to be around her father's family.
When William IV, Victoria's uncle, became king, he made her his official heir. He did not like John Conroy, however, and hoped to live long enough for Victoria to be of legal age to reign alone before he died. He did not know that Victoria already disliked her mother's advisor and was determined to get rid of him when she could. William managed to live just long enough, and the princess became queen in her own right.
One of the first things she did was to banish Sir John from the royal court, and then she made sure her mother's apartments were far from her own. Victoria was determined to rule by herself.
