Royal Life Issue 21 Magazine

With her 90th birthday approaching fast, the hard working monarch has handed over most of her overseas duties to the younger royals, but she was delighted to be able to attend the recent Commonwealth meeting in Malta, a country that she loves. In 1949 1951 Prince Philip was stationed on the island as a Royal Navy officer and in the years before she became Queen she lived there as a military wife, able to drive her own car around and engage in such normal pursuits as doing her own shopping and visiting the cinema. According to one royal biographer, Her Majesty has been known to say that Malta is the only place in the Common wealth, other than Britain, that she can truly call home. Her visit in late 2015, which you can read all about in this issue, must have been in some ways bittersweet, visiting a country she loves on what may have been her final trip to an organisation she created and cherishes. It will be many years before the Commonwealth summit is held there again, by which time Her Majesty will surely send Prince Charles as ambassador on her behalf. Meanwhile, 2016 is the year when we will all be celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday, and we have an exciting next issue planned where we will be celebrating.