The Duke of Edinburgh has told of the “deep and sincere affection” that many people in Malta feel for his parents hours after he visited the villa where the late Queen and Prince Philip lived on the island as a young couple.
On Wednesday morning, Edward and Sophie toured Villa Guardamangia in the outskirts of the Maltese capital Valletta and heard about restoration work taking place on the now dilapidated building.
The late Queen and Philip lived there between 1949 and 1951 while the prince was stationed in Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer.
In the evening at a garden party at the residence of the British high commissioner to celebrate the King’s birthday, Edward said it had been “lovely” to visit the villa.
In a speech to those gathered, the duke said: “The other thing that comes across so strongly is the very deep and sincere affection that so many people on this island have for my parents and that very special time that they had here with their young family, and it was lovely to visit the villa where they stayed during that time.
“The number of people who have said, ‘Have you been to the villa and are you going to go and see it?’, it obviously means a great deal to everybody here.”
He said he hopes Heritage Malta, which has been given around 10 million euros (£8.4 million) to restore the property, “turns it into something that has a real value”.
Upon entering Villa Guardamangia, Edward and Sophie met Elizabeth Pule whose mother, Jessie, was a housekeeper when the late Queen and Philip lived in the property.
Ms Pule shared memories with the royal pair and Edward told her: “I know that my mother spotted your mother in a crowd when she came on a visit.
“She never forgot her.”
Ms Pule was invited to attend the evening reception, and there had the chance to speak with both the duchess and duke.
Sophie held Ms Pule’s hands and kissed her on the cheek when saying goodbye, and moments later, Edward came to the table where Ms Pule was standing, joking: “Have you still got more photographs?”
Asked what it meant to speak and spend time with them, Ms Pule told the PA news agency: “Don’t make me cry.
“I was so emotional this morning and even now.
“It’s something so nice for me. I was brought up in an English way.”
She said she feels a strong connection to the British royal family, adding: “They really respected my mother.
“This morning, they told me at Buckingham Palace they still mention my mother. I don’t know how because things have changed.”
Sharing her memories of the late Queen and Philip, Ms Pule told PA: “I still can’t take it that the Queen and Prince Philip passed away.”
The president of the Republic of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono, also gave a speech at the King’s birthday reception during which she spoke of the “special bond” that exists between the Maltese people and the British royal family whom she said have “always been viewed with affection”.
Referencing the time the late Queen spent in the island country, Ms Spiteri Debono said: “Over the years Maltese dignitaries who on various occasions met the late Queen recount that she always spoke fondly of her years in Malta.”
On a tour of Villa Guardamangia, Edward and Sophie walked through an exhibition of photos of the late Queen and Philip set up in the residence.
The duke and duchess were left alone at the top end of the garden, near a derelict fountain, to have a private moment, chatting among themselves and taking in their surroundings.
Bells sounded midway through the tour, which were rung specially by a local priest in honour of the couple’s visit.
They finished the tour by posing for a photo on the villa’s roof, and were asked to swap positions to recapture a famous photo of the late Queen and Philip taken on the same roof decades ago.
Giancarlo Azzopardi, assistant curator at Heritage Malta, said there is an “attachment” between the villa and the British royal family.
“Specifically with the older generation that remembers Malta as a British colony and later as a British base, there’s always that attachment,” he said.
He also told of a “misconception” that the late Queen was living in Malta as a “regular sailor’s wife”, and said she was “putting on a public image” for Britain at a time when questions lingered over independence.
Edward and Sophie spent time in the afternoon at various locations in central Valletta, prompting many members of the public to applaud and some to stand from their restaurant chairs as they spotted the royal couple.
They attended a church service at the Anglican St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral and visited the National Library where they viewed artefacts which documented the shared history between Malta and the UK, including a letter signed by the late Queen inaugurating the island country’s first parliament in 1964.
