Strickland heir tells court ‘secret’ will was abusively altered

Testifying before Mr. Justice Silvio Meli, presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Court, Robert Hornyold Strickland - who is Allied Newspaper's second-largest shareholder with 13.3% of the company - also confirmed that he was given title to one share of Progress Press, which was valued at €25.

Robert Hornyold-Strickland, who is currently in litigation with his Aunt's executors, one of whom, Joseph Ganado, is Chairman of the Strickland Foundation and is also currently a director of Allied Newspapers - claimed that his late aunt's Will was changed in 1979 while he was living in Britain.

When Strickland lived with his Aunt in Malta in 1977 and 1978 he said "My aunt confided in me on everything. She discussed important matters with me quite openly when I was living with her at Villa Parisio." Strickland stated that his Aunt had always shown him her earlier Wills and given him copies, except for the last Will. 

Strickland added that a legal process had been started by his Aunt to adopt him as her son in 1977, but this was effectively blocked by the introduction of new retrospective legislation which he and his Aunt found very surprising.  Rumour then spread around the island that Mabel intended to marry him.  "This was a joke of course," Strickland claimed, adding that this rumour resulted in the then government forcing him to leave the island for nine years between 1978 and 1987. Strickland, in fact, only found out that the Will had been changed after his Aunt had died on November 29th 1988.

Strickland commented that he could not possibly discuss serious issues with his late aunt, when he returned in 1987 given that, by then, "she was very old and frail", and he "did not want to upset her".

Robert Hornyold-Strickland never mentioned any names, but stated that his Aunt's legal advisor, who became one of her executors, assisted in revising her Will.  He claimed that this effectively then prevented him from inheriting the bulk of the estate, which included Villa Parisio in Lija, where he had lived with his Aunt as a young man, before he had to return to Britain. In the new Will Strickland was, instead, given rights of use and habitation at the Villa.

While claiming to have been usurped of his right to the estate because of the revised Will, Strickland said that he alone, as heir, was responsible for footing the "substantial" bill of his late Aunt's succession duty,  and it took him some time to settle the amount with the State. 

When he had to leave for Britain Strickland told the Court   "That was a very difficult time for me. My Aunt and I continued to correspond by letter, but we agreed between ourselves that letters had to be hand carried and delivered as Mabel had asked me not to write or make any phone calls about anything sensitive to do with the family.   In 1987 when I was allowed back I was completely unaware that there had been a new Will signed in 1979."

According to Robert Hornyold-Strickland, "After my aunt had died, strangely, most of the beds were removed from the bedrooms at Villa Parisio, and most of the baths from each bathroom",  adding that this was interpreted as a move to make Villa Parisio in Lija "uninhabitable" for him and his family, frustrating his rights.

He also expressed his dismay at the fact that he was being constantly denied access to his aunts "volumes of personal correspondence and files" which were allegedly held inside at least 20 filing cabinets now  mostly removed from Villa Parisio and which he claimed legally belonged to him as heir.

"I have only been given one filing cabinet, when I know that there is a lot of correspondence related to the revision of her Will together with other historical family correspondence and photographs, diaries and letters from Buckingham Palace, Christmas cards from the Queen, and other material," he said.

Before ending his two hour deposition before the court, Robert Hornyold-Strickland said that whenever he asked to have access to the "missing" filing cabinets, he has always been denied this by the Executors.  "I find it disturbing that I am prohibited from accessing my Aunt's correspondence, when former Times editor, Victor Aquilina, has been granted access to research his books."

The case is adjourned for next January 16.