Her Majesty's connection to Malta and Villa Guardamangia are well known. Now that it is in the hands of Heritage Malta it will be restored in remembrance of the time Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip spent there as a young newly married and happy couple living a life of freedom. As we know they lived there between 1949 and 1951 when Prince Philip was a young naval officer stationed in Malta.

My sisters and myself were fortunate enough, some months ago, to be invited to visit the now dilapidated villa by Mrs Carmen Glanville (née Schembri) whose father had owned the villa. There is a personal story attached to all this which is not for me to relate, a story of life's rich tapestry with its triumphs and disasters.

Your diarist and Mrs Glanville

We were lucky enough to be shown round the villa by Dr Kenneth Gambin of Heritage Malta and Mrs Glanville herself, a childhood friend. We lived next door to each other when they lived in Villa Paradiso, for many years and we were in and out of each other's homes. Our childhood friendship was renewed fairly recently much to our delight. Little did we know that Carmen was living a few streets away. We are now busy meeting occasionally and catching up with some 50 years of absence from each other's lives.

Her Majesty the Queen by artist Ray Piscopo (2019)

It is Carmen's father is-Sur Guzé tal-Ghagin who had built Villa Paradiso in Sliema with its massive rooms and huge orchard. We lived next door and were in and out of each other's homes. At the time Mr Schembri was an MP with Dr Boffa's party. He was a prominent and wealthy businessman, the owner of several factories, at least eleven horses and was mostly involved in construction. He had built the Radio City in Hamrun and according to Carmen who is the youngest of eight siblings, two of which died in childhood, and the only one still alive, he also built a good part of Hamrun.

The Nato building in Floriana was also built and owned by him. In her sitting room Carmen has a huge portrait of her father with, in hand, the contract signed with NATO, to rent the Floriana premises to them. Mr Schembri built the Sliema Pitch. I remember a time when Villa Rosa was their summer residence. The story of Mr Schembri has as yet to be written. He was also a well known philanthropist and a generous employer until Life dealt him an almost fatal blow. Like so  many of us, he was lucky in some things and unlucky in others.

I remember six siblings very well but we were closest to Carmen for she was our age and the only one who is still alive. There were also two cousins living with this generous family. I believe they had lost their parents.

The eldest sister, Doris, married to Henry Warrington had a son Kenneth a medical doctor, who was headhunted by the Mayo Clinic as soon as he graduated in Malta and has been working there as a consultant since his graduation. He serves as Chair in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.

Going round Villa Guardamangia and its gardens while Carmen gave us a running commentary of how it was and how much her father loved it, it was not difficult to imagine the young Princess Elizabeth and her husband, very much in love and living there as a young married couple. Carmen and family had moved to Villa Guardamangia after Mr Schembri sold Villa Paradiso to the Sciclunas,  and lived there for some ten years.

Carmen comes up with the occasional and often surprising recollection. She remembers Princess Elizabeth driving their convertible maroon car.

There are still fireplaces, bathrooms and bedrooms. However, all frescoes were covered by the last person who occupied the Villa.

The garden was, according to Carmen, very well tended  when they lived there as her father loved it. There are still remnents of the beautiful wrought iron work. There were magnificent views of the sea, now gone forever as the area has all been built up. May this historic house enjoy a fairer wind once it is restored.

Dr Kenneth Gambin of Heritage Malta and Mrs Glanville

Let me now pay my own short personal tribute to Her Majesty the Queen. She was present throughout our childhood and teenage years. I remember her coming to open Mater Admirabilis Training College at Tal Virtù when we wore our Panama hats. Mothers turned up in hats and it was liked a garden party. I remember her also at the opening of the University of Malta at Tal Qroqq. Always gracious, Always smiling.

I cannot say that her death came as a shock. It would be hypocritical for since she was 96 and her health was obviously failing we were all expecting her death to be announced sooner rather than later.

She lived a long and fulfilling life and is respected the world over. To me and possibly others of my generation she served as a role model. In a world dominated by men I always felt that she was the perfect working woman. In her own quiet way, possibly unintentionally, she was sending out the message that there was room for women in the world of work.

The beautiful wrought iron work has survived

I am one of those who believe that colonisation which was inevitable in our case, was, on the whole, a force for good. Let the George Cross remain on our flag and Queen Victoria on the main square of our capital city.

 I do not envy any woman who has the added burden of being the wife of a governor, president, a prime minister and so on, let alone queen. Forever in the public eye with little privacy, with a tight schedule of duties, one is forever at the beck and call of the public. Your freedom is gone. To me my freedom means everything. Yet, Her Majesty on whom greatness was thrust, unexpectedly, at a very early age, did her duty for 70 years and did it graciously. When politicians, royalty and so on are usually smaller than we hoped, she was bigger than we could have ever dreamed. From the Pathé documentaries before a film, during which my mother inevitably cried, right down to her last few days, Her Majesty was a constant benevolent presence. I hope she has found Philip.