Sophie Wessex visibly moved as she honours late Queen with touching gesture
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are currently on a trip to Malta and today they visited the villa near the capital Valletta, where the late Queen and Prince Philip lived for several years when they were a young married couple
The Duchess of Edinburgh looked visibly moved as she and Prince Edward honoured the late Queen on a touching visit during a trip to Malta.
Both Edward and Sophie recreated pictures of the former monarch and her husband Prince Philip, that were taken more than 70 years ago as they visited the Maltese villa where they lived as newlyweds.
The Edinburghs toured Villa Guardamangia today and heard about restoration work taking place on the former residence of Queen Elizabeth II and Philip when they were a young married couple. The couple lived there between 1949 and 1951 while the prince was stationed in Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer.
Edward and Sophie met Elizabeth Pule whose mother, Jessie, was a housekeeper when the late Queen and Philip lived in the villa on the outskirts of the capital Valletta. Edward told her: “I know that my mother spotted your mother in a crowd when she came on a visit. She never forgot her.”
The pair were taken on a tour of the house during which they walked through an exhibition of photos of the late Queen and Philip set up in the garden. Edward and Sophie waved at two people who were stood on the balcony of a different property overlooking the garden.
The duke and duchess were left alone at the top end of the garden, near a derelict fountain, to have a private moment, chatting among themselves and taking in their surroundings. Bells sounded midway through the tour, which were rung specially by a local priest in honour of the couple’s visit.
