The End of an Era

I was doing the rounds on Instagram on Tuesday of last week when I came across a  photo of Queen Elizabeth during her first official meeting with Liz Truss, appointing her Britain's new Prime Minister. The photo moved me in a strange. 'The Queen looks so frail', I commented under the photo. I had this foreboding that the queen was fading fast but I brushed it away because it seemed like she always rallied. And yet her passing, just 48 hours later, still came as a surprise. She had been Queen throughout my life and I half expected her to live forever, like an eternal symbol of a different era.

Unapologetic Royalist

It was my parents, but mostly my dad, who instilled in me a love of all things British from a very young age. As I grew older, I developed an almost fanatical  interest in the current Royal Family and in the kings and queens from whom they are descended. The history of the British monarchy is turbulent, convoluted and utterly fascinating and it's  a subject I love to read about. I truly do believe that, although many more kings than queens have ruled Britain, it is during the long reign of Elizabeth I, Victoria and Elizabeth II that the most tumultuous changes and advances in the society of the time took place. Elizabeth II came to the throne a mere 7 years after the end of WW2. Rationing was still in force and Europe was not yet healed of its scars. In the intervening 70 years so much changed and yet her steadfastness, dignity and commitment to her country and to the Commonwealth were a constant reminder that the she would never break the oath she had taken at her coronation, no matter how difficult things may have been for her personally.

The Queen and I

I was never lucky enough to meet the Queen in person but i did catch a glimpse of her and Prince Philip during a visit they had made to Malta in  1992. However, I never stopped hoping that I would - which is why I would always check whether the Royal Standard was flying whenever visiting one of her official residences. Sadly, although I have visited Buckingham Palace (3 times), Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House, I never saw as much as one of her beloved corgis.

The Royal Standard flies above the Keep of Windsor Castle on our visit in 2014. The Queen was in residence.

Queen Elizabeth II and Malta

It is said that he Queen had an affectionate place in her heart for Malta although, unfortunately, there aren't many people left who still care. The Queen visited Malta 6 times after she was crowned: in 1954 (as part of a grand tour of the Commonwealth), 1967, 1992, 2005, 2007 and 2015 (which was her last overseas trip). But what perhaps is not widely known is that she actually lived here in Malta for several months between 1949 and 1951 as a naval wife when Prince Philip served in the Royal Navy Mediterranean  Fleet. 

The residence of the royal couple while on the island was Villa Guardamangia, an 18-room neoclassical building with a large garden in the town of Pieta`. Princess Elizabeth (as she was then) and Prince Philip were able to live a normal life, far from the constraints and protocol of the court. The villa was privately owned and over the years if fell into a state of neglect. Unfortunately it is now in a dilapidated state but it was acquired by the Maltese government a few years ago and has now been entrusted to Heritage Malta. The plan is to restore it to its former glory and turn it into a museum. The grand opening is expected to take place in 2027.

  VILLA GUARDAMANGIA (REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo)

Elizabeth II was queen of Malta from 1952 until the amendment of the Constitution of Malta on 13 December 1974, which abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Malta and the office of President of Malta.

I'm adding some links about Malta and the Queen that I thought you'd find interesting:

This video is from the Queen and Prince Philip's visit in 1954. Also present were a very young Prince Charles and Princess Anne. It was during this visit that my dad met the Queen when he was part of the Boy Scout troop present at the inauguration of the Mater Admirabilis Training College for teachers in Tal-Virtu`.

An article in House & Garden about Villa Guardamangia.

The Queen in Malta - in pictures

The End Of An Era

As I write this, the Queen is making her way to Buckingham Palace for the last time. The rain is falling but the crowds are thick on the streets. They do not mind the rain as they stand in silence or clap as the hearse goes by. For this is a historical moment. The end of an era. The passing of a woman who symbolised so much to so many. I do not mean to sound like a sycophant. The Queen was not perfect and I am sure she made mistakes. The media pointed them out often enough. But my feeling is that she always had her fingers on the pulse of her nation. She knew when to be present and when to withdraw. In a world where the only constants are turmoil and change, she has been there, a serene and calming presence for seventy years. Now she is at rest and it is time for the tributes to pour in from all over the world. This is just my own humble one to the woman who was once, for a very few years, my Queen too.