The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Malta caused quite a stir as throngs of people with their Union Jacks gathered for the arrival of the Royals at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta yesterday evening at about 5pm.

Donned in a lilac hat and dress, black gloves and matching patent leather shoes and handbag, Queen Elizabeth II’s entrance to the garden was received with loud cheers and applause from the public.

Her entrance was preceded by around 30 couples who joined the royals inside the garden where the Queen also planted a tree to commemorate her Diamond anniversary.

It was an unforgettable evening for these couples who joined the Queen and Prince Philip to celebrate their Diamond wedding anniversary at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, shortly after their arrival in Malta.

Among the couples were those who, like the Queen and Prince Philip, are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this year, others who are celebrating their 30th anniversary and couples who are getting married this week.

Set up purposely for the occasion, the garden’s passages were lined with flambeaus while a small band from the Armed Forces of Malta played romantic tunes to entertain the guests.

The excited couples completely forgot about the chilly wind as the crowd outside the garden cheered, clearly indicating the arrival of the royal couple, whom they were about to meet.

Greeted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Mrs Gonzi, the Queen and Prince Philip immediately proceeded to where the couples waited in earnest.

Evidently overjoyed, some couples who spoke to The Malta Independent soon after the royal couple left for San Anton Palace – where they spent the night before leaving Malta this morning – said they did not expect it to be such an informal and personal meeting.

It was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will cherish in their hearts forever.

Most of the people cheering the Queen outside the Upper Barakka Gardens were Brits themselves who took time out of their holiday and came to greet their Majesty.

June Williams and Gerald Marshall told TMID that they thought the Queen was wonderful and said that they had seen her before at the Coronation Air Force in England in 1953.

Hugh and Sheila Rooney from Northern Ireland said that they had met her when she presented the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary Police Force as Hugh was once an R.U.C. officer.

Jennifer Clarke and Pat Overton from the Midlands said that they had met the Queen at her 1977 Silver Jubilee celebration in the West Midlands. They said that they found it wonderful that they could catch a glimpse of Her Majesty while they were on holiday.

The Royals marked their 60th wedding anniversary with their visit to Malta where they lived on and off for two years between 1949 and 1951. The Duke was stationed here as a Royal Navy officer.

A picture taken as recently as this year shows the Royal couple smiling at each other, with the duke’s head tilted downwards. It was taken at the former home of Lord Mountbatten in Hampshire. The astonishing aspect of this picture is that it strikes a similar resemblance to another picture taken during their honeymoon at the same place in 1947.

The royals stopped in Malta before heading to Uganda for the Commonwealth Heads

of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which kicks off on Friday and draws to a close on Sunday.

Their stay in Malta is being dubbed by some as their second honeymoon, and reports claimed it was the Duke of Edinburgh’s idea to come here.