Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Victoria Day
Victoria Day
Reading Comprehension for May 20
It is common to celebrate kings' and queens' birthdays while they are alive. To keep celebrating royal birthdays more than 100 years after their death is remarkable. It is a measure of the person's greatness.
Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, in Kensington Palace, London. Her father, Edward, the Duke of Kent, was brother to both King George IV and King William IV. The young princess never knew her father. He died when she was only eight months old.
The young princess was named for her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria became queen when she was 18 years old. (Both of her uncles had died without legal heirs.) The British throne was not held in respect at the time. She would change that.
The new queen's determination and modest behavior soon won approval. By this time in England, the monarch had no real governing power. Even so, she was willing to do what she could to work with those who did. She helped change England's social and economic base for the better.
