Royal tours in glorious destinations might look like fun but they are technically classed as work. So where do the Royal Family choose to go to get their fix of sunshine and rest? Balmoral and Sandringham have always been favoured by the Queen but there are also several overseas spots that have become firm royal favourites.
Malta
Between 1949 and 1951 Princess Elizabeth, as she was then, and Philip lived in Malta in a small town called Pieta very near the Maltese capital of Valletta. Their home was the Villa Guardamangia, an eighteenth-century ‘garden palace’ loaned to Philip by his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten while Philip was stationed in Malta for naval duties with HMS Magpie. Villa Guardamangia has since fallen into disrepair but the eighteen-bedroom limestone building is set to be turned into a museum according to recent reports. The Government of Malta purchased the building in June 2020 and it was entrusted to Heritage Malta who add that ‘Villa Guardamangia is the only property outside Great Britain in which the royal family has resided’.
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