British kings in the 20th century:  comprehensions When you watch TV quiz shows such as ‘Pointless’, it is perhaps not surprising at the lack of knowledge many young people have with regard to past kings and queens of Britain. After all, our present monarch has been on the throne for over 60 years and most people have never witnessed a coronation. Our latest set of comprehension worksheets provides a host of valuable information, covering the British Royal Family in the 20th century. We have looked at the four kings who reigned between the death of Queen Victoria and the start of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign: King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI. Each has been written at two different ability levels which makes it easy to provide material for a range of reading abilities or ages and to give greater differentiation in the classroom. King Edward VII ruled between 1901 – 1910 and was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Edward, called Bertie, was married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. He made many public appearances during his time as Prince of Wales and even went on an eight month tour of India in the 1870’s. This was so successful that his mother, Queen Victoria, was made Empress of India on his return! King George V was the son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. He ruled between 1910 – 1936. As the second son, George never expected to be King. He served in the Royal Navy and even had a blue and red dragon tattooed onto his arm! George was King during the First World War and responsible for changing the Royal Family’s surname from ‘Saxe-Coburg and Gotha’ to ‘Windsor’. King Edward VIII was the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. He joined the Grenadier Guards in June 1914 in anticipation of the start of the First World War. Unfortunately, as he was heir to the throne, Lord Kitchener (the Secretary of State for War) wouldn’t let him fight on the front line. He became King in 1936 but abdicated after just 325 days because he wanted to marry a twice divorced American called Wallis Simpson. King George VI was the second son of King George V. He ruled between 1936 – 1952. George was married to Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon and they had two children; Elizabeth (the current Queen) and Margaret. George’s work during the Second World War helped to restore the popularity of the monarchy which was very low after the abdication of his brother. Go to British kings in the 20th century