The first in Jean Plaidy's captivating Victorian series.

The young Princess Victoria, strictly confined within the boundaries of Kensington Palace, is being moulded for her awesome future as Queen of England. Surrounded by her dolls and closely guarded by her domineering mother and faithful governess, she slowly becomes aware of the bitter conflicts that surround her.

The jealous and scheming Duke of Cumberland is a constant threat to her rightful accession . . . her mother's sinister friend, Sir John Conroy, makes her uneasy . . . and the bickering between her mother and the king seems neverending.

Growing up is proving difficult for the princess. She longs for her eighteenth birthday when at last she will be free to rule the nation as she pleases and to re-acquaint herself with the gallant Prince Albert.