An Mdina Cathedral Archives office worker, who was waiting to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, joked that Malta was never so heavily guarded, probably not even during the Great Siege.
The Malta Independent interviewed a number of locals and foreigners who followed the royal couple on their tour to Mdina this morning.
All those interviewed by this newsroom had only words of praise for the security provided during the Royal visit and the Commonwealth meeting.
The couple was ushered in to the cathedral, followed by a brief stop near the Mdina bastions. Towards the end, the Prince and Duchess then left through the main gate amid tight security and made their way to the airport.
Prince Charles was overheard telling a Maltese onlooker who greeted him that “it is always a pleasure to come to Malta”.
An English couple said that they felt extremely safe during their stay in Malta amid tensions over terror threats in other EU countries.
Another English couple and their children, who were waving mini-British flags in honour of the royal couple, said that they were very well aware that the Queen was to visit Malta along with Prince Charles and Camilla.
A Canadian woman was very proud with the fact that her Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was in Malta for CHOGM.
An onlooker praised the fact that the Canadian Prime Minister yesterday pledged $1.98 billion in aid to developing nations over the next five years to help fight the effects of climate change.
When asked whether they feel CHOGM is more of a sign of unity then a meeting where concrete measures would be announced, some said that meetings of this nature have been happening for years where leaders pledge to address certain issues but some end up sidelining such issues.
When faced with the same question, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who was on his way in to the cathedral to meet Prince Charles and the Duchess, said that he will leave it up to politicians to evaluate whether concrete measures emerge from the summit but said that he is following the CHOGM meetings closely like any other citizen.
“I do hope that such meetings continue since the Commonwealth embraces a third of the world’s population and who represent different cultures so it’s not only colonial language that unites us but also a commitment towards the future ,” he said.
He recalled that the Queen’s late mother had visited the cathedral and was greeted by then Archbishop Gonzi and that history was repeating itself but evidently, it’s a new generation of the royal family.
Video: Jonathan Borg