High Commissioner presents credentials to Queen Elizabeth II

The High Commissioner of Malta, Norman Hamilton, was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday for the presentation of the Letters of Recall of his predecessor Joseph Zammit Tabona and his own Letters of Credence, accrediting Hamilton as High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to the Court of St James's. 

Hamilton was accompanied by his wife, Josette, first Secretary Clint Borg and first Secretary at the Malta High Commission, London Chirelle Sciberras. 

The Queen remarked on the excellent relations between the United Kingdom and Malta and reminisced on recollections of her lengthy stays on the island. 

As a memento of the occasion, the High Commissioner commissioned and presented Her Majesty with a watercolour painting of Villa Gwardamangia in Pieta' by Maltese artist John Martin Borg. 

Upon accepting the gift, the Queen remarked that it will rekindle some of her "fondest youthful memories", when living there as a Princess between 1949 and 1951. The Queen expressed a wish to revisit the residence if she were to visit Malta in the future. 

The High Commissioner pledged to continue Mabel Strickland OBE's tradition of sending a box of Maltese oranges to Buckingham Palace every Christmas. 

Before leaving, High Commissioner Mr Norman Hamilton expressed his gratitude for the cooperation and assistance given by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Malta High Commission and augured his term in London would contribute towards the further strengthening of Anglo-Maltese relations.