Oranges for the Queen and how she had Gonzi’s team in panic

It was halfway through an informal conversation over lunch at Castille that Queen Elizabeth II had asked to visit Villa Guardamangia.

The year was 2005 and Malta was hosting the Commonwealth meeting, known as CHOGM. The request was dropped during conversation with then prime minister Lawrence Gonzi.

The Queen had expressed a wish to visit the house which served as her residence between 1949 and 1951. Gonzi recalls that moment vividly when speaking to MaltaToday on his recollections of Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday, aged 96, ending a 70-year-long reign.

The former prime minister says his protocol team panicked because the villa was in a bad state of repair. “I was impressed by the Queen’s detailed recollection of the first years of her married life which she and her husband had spent in Malta. Evidently, she had found the time to explore Malta driving through our towns and villages, familiarising herself with our Maltese character and way of life,” Gonzi recounts of that conversation over lunch.

“On that occasion she expressed her wish to visit villa Guardamangia – the place of her residence during those obviously happy days. This was a request that was greeted with some panic by my protocol people because of the villa’s very bad state of repair. As a result, we had to politely explain that it would be best to postpone this for a future visit.”

The Queen lived in Villa Guardamangia for periods between 1949 and 1951 while her husband Prince Philip was stationed on Malta as a Royal Navy officer, making the Pietà home the only house outside the UK in which a British monarch has resided.

Indeed, the monarch reportedly “spent her happiest years a carefree princess” in Malta, making the most of her freedom before committing to her duties as queen.

The villa was acquired by the Maltese government and entrusted to Heritage Malta in June 2020 to be restored and enjoyed by the public.

Joseph Zammit Tabona, who served as Malta’s High Commissioner to the UK between 2009 and 2013, has his own sentimental anecdotes with the Queen.

When Zammit Tabona first handed his letter of credence to the Queen, she recalled that she would receive a basket of Maltese oranges every Christmas from Mabel Strickland.

Zammit Tabona’s wife Susan thought it would be a nice idea to keep up the tradition themselves, and so every Christmas, the Zammit Tabonas would send their own basket of local oranges to the Queen.

Beyond their own tradition, the Queen used to describe to Zammit Tabona her own time in Malta as a princess, when she would drive all over the island in her convertible car, “and not worry about security back then”.

Two years after the 2005 CHOGM meeting in Malta, the Queen paid a second visit, which Gonzi says highlighted her deeply emotional connection to the Maltese islands.

“The year 2007 happened to be the 60th wedding anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip, both of whom were scheduled to attend the Commonwealth summit in Kampala, Uganda. A few weeks before that event, I was informed that the Royal couple had decided to spend one night in Malta on their way to Kampala where they wished to celebrate their 60th diamond wedding anniversary amongst the Maltese people.”

An event was organised on 20 November in Upper Barrakka, with Gonzi and his wife Catherine introducing 30 Maltese couples, some of whom were also celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary, to the royal couple.

“Clearly the royal couple’s decision to spend this special time in Malta amongst the Maltese, emphasised this ‘deeply emotional connection’ with Malta and the Maltese and – I must stay – the feeling was reciprocated by the large crowds noisily waiting outside of Barrakka gardens to personally give their best wishes to the royal couple.”

Gonzi says that Queen Elizabeth’s demise is a loss for her family, her country, the Commonwealth and beyond. “But her legacy will always remind us of what is truly meant by a higher calling for ‘selfless service to the nation and to the people’,” he surmises.

Zammit Tabona shares the same sentiment, saying the world has lost a leading stateswoman. “She was always up-to-date, well-versed, and briefed,” he says of the Queen. “I am extremely saddened.”

The Maltese connection to the Royal Family is unlikely to fade with the Queen’s death. Zammit Tabona says that Prince Charles, now King Charles III, holds a similar affection to Malta, apart from sharing in the Queen’s strong sense of duty.

On Friday, in his first address as King, Charles paid tribute to his “darling mama”. “We owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance and example,” he told a mourning nation.

In his speech he also gave a nod to his own children, announcing that Prince William would take on his former title as the Prince of Wales and saying he wanted “to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”

At 73, King Charles III is the oldest person to assume the British throne.