A planning application to turn Villa Guardamangia into a museum has been filed with the Planning Authority.

The Villa had served as the only permanent residence outside the United Kingdom which Queen Elizabeth II had ever had, where her and her husband Prince Philip had spent months at a time living between the years of 1949 and 1951.

The Maltese government had purchased Villa Guardamangia, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, back in the year 2020. It has been entrusted to Heritage Malta with plans to turn the site into a museum.

In 2024, a press release by Heritage Malta when the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited the Villa, read: "The villa is currently undergoing an extensive restoration project, for which a €10.2 million grant through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has just been announced. The first phase of the project addresses structural and restoration work, and the second phase will focus on interior finishes and creating an engaging visitor experience. Once restored, the first floor will be historically reconstructed as it was when the royal couple resided in it, highlighting their human experience of Malta."

In an article that appeared in the Times of Malta in 2024, Heritage Malta COO Kenneth Gambin was quoted as estimating that the Villa's restoration would take "at least another five years."

The planning application, filed by Heritage Malta, proposes the change of use to a museum, and proposes the installation of solar panels, construction of new lightweight structure for restroom facilities, and construction of lightweight internal partitions in remissa to be used as a store. The total site area for the site is 1,600 square metres.