Royals to bid Malta farewell in the afternoon

The royal visit to Malta comes to a close later today, after some visits that will allow them to enjoy some of the country’s natural charm and revisit places they used to frequent when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh used to live on the island between 1949 and 1951.

The day marks the end of the state visit held on occasion of the Commonwealth heads of Government meeting held in Malta this year.

The morning will kick off with the royals making their private farewells and the Queen and Duke departing from San Anton palace to Heritage Malta in Kalkara at 10.40am, after a tree planting ceremony in a private garden of the palace at 10.30am. The tree will be planted next to another tree, that had been planted on occasion of the Queen’s 2005 visit, as the British Monarchy’s Twitter feed attests:

First, The Queen will plant a tree in the grounds of San Anton Palace, the latest of many she has planted in Malta: pic.twitter.com/kI0jlBGEaT

— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) November 28, 2015

The Prince of Wales and the Ducchess of Cornwall have an altogether different programme, and they will be visiting and touring Mdina on foot, after visiting St Paul’s Cathedral. The Prince and Ducchess will be departing from the island at 11.20 am.

The Queen and the Duke will be departing from Heritage Malta to the Kalkara yacht marina at 10.30am, where she will make a ferry crossing to the Valletta Customs Wharf, where the HMS Bulwark is moored. The vessel will give a royal salute, and the royals will then proceed to the Marsa Racecourse at 11.55am.

The visit at the racecourse will see the royals being driven onto the racetrack, where the Duke used to spend much of his time enjoying polo games when he was stationed in Malta as a naval officer. They will also be watching some polo games and children’s trotting shows at Marsa.

 The Queen and the Duke will then be departing from Malta at 1.15pm.

The visit marked the Queen’s seventh official visit to the country, and it also marks a return to an island where the monarch reportedly “spent her happiest years a carefree princess” between 1949 and 1951, when Malta was still a British colony and Prince Philip was stationed on the island as a naval officer where she had been encouraged to join. The visit, may be the 89-year-old monarch’s last presence at a Commonwealth summit, after her decision to avoid long-haul travel.

Her visit saw significant changes due to strong gusty winds and heavy showers over these two days, including the original plan for the Queen and the Duke to go to St. George’s Square in Valletta upon her arrival on the island last Thursday. The ceremony was moved to the San Anton Palace courtyard.