Gill will start playing at 9:35pm tonight.
As Queen Elizabeth II gets ready to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this coming weekend, it’s only fitting that, as her former temporary place of residence, Malta joins in on the celebrations…
That’s where champion Scottish piper Gill Cairns comes in.
Gill, who was born in Inverness but has spent the last two years living in Malta, spoke to The Inverness Courier about her plans to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee in a very unique way – by playing the bagpipes outside Queen Elizabeth’s former Pietá house – Villa Guardamangia.
The piper will be joining some 1,700 other pipers and drummers from all over the globe who will be remotely serenading the Queen on this momentous occasion.
Her Majesty had resided in Malta back when she was still a Princess, from 1949 to 1941, with the late Prince Philip. This makes Villa Guardamangia the only place outside the UK that Queen Elizabeth has ever called home.
After enduring years of disuse, the historic dwelling is set to start receiving some well-deserved TLC later this year.
“The Queen had described her time in Malta as one of the best times in her life as she could live normally. When the tune for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was announced, I immediately thought that playing at Villa Guardamangia was a fitting tribute,” Gill told The Inverness Courier.
“It’s an honour to mark this unique milestone in history at a place where the Queen was happy to call home. It’s the only place outside the UK that has this unique honour,” she continued.
Gill will be playing a tune penned specifically for the Platinum Jubilee called Diu Regnare. This was written by Stuart Liddell – the Pipe Major of the Inverary and District Pipe Band.
You can catch Gill playing the bagpipes tonight at 9:35pm.
Good luck, Gill!
Photo: Gill Cairns / Facebook