Complex sentence: Richard confronts his mother with his new choice, but Queen Veronica balks and sets up the impossible princess test of sleeping on twelve mattresses set on top of a tiny pea, confident that Alecia will fail to be sensitive enough to feel the pea.
Split into simpler sentences: Richard confronts his mother with his new choice, but Queen Veronica balks. She then sets up the impossible "princess" test of sleeping on twelve mattresses set on top of a tiny pea, confident that Alecia will fail to be sensitive enough to feel the pea.