In light of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s passing last night, people have gathered to lay wreaths at the door of her former Maltese residence, Villa Guardamangia.

Malta was the only country that she had ever resided in outside of the United Kingdom. It is here that she is said to have “spent her happiest years a carefree princess” between 1949 and 1951, while her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was stationed there.

Following her coronation in 1953, the couple went on to visit the Maltese Islands several times.

Villa Guardamangia was built in the 18th Century in Pieta, with views of Marsamxett Harbour. The property changed hands several times until it was bought by Joseph Schembri in 1949 and remained with the family until 2018.

Unfortunately, while under private ownership, the property was left in a worrying state of neglect and disrepair. This led several entities to call for the site’s restoration as a piece of local heritage.

In 2020, Villa Guardamangia was purchased by the Maltese Government and subsequently entrusted to Heritage Malta in June 2020.

Queen Elizabeth the Second passed away on 8th September 2022 at the age of 96, almost a year and a half after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away on 9th April 2021 at the age of 99.

Do you remember the Queen while she was in Malta?

 Heritage Malta/Facebook