London: She spent perhaps the happiest years of her married life there, but a row over the former home on Malta of Britain’s Queen means she will be denied the chance of a final romantic visit as she arrived in Malta Thursday. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spent two years living at the Villa Guardamangia in Valletta when the Duke was based there with the Royal Navy in the early years of their marriage. It allowed for the sort of carefree existence denied to them ever since the Queen’s accession.

The couple will spend three days in Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, but the villa is in such poor repair that a nostalgic return is out of the question.

The Maltese government had hoped to buy the building and renovate it as a tourist attraction, but a drawn-out legal wrangle with its owners means nothing has been done.

As a result, its stonework is crumbling, its paintwork peeling, shutters falling apart and ironwork rusting. Weeds have taken over the garden where the Queen and the Duke once relaxed in the Mediterranean sun. The condition of the house — the only place outside the UK that the Queen has ever called home — has become something of an embarrassment to the Maltese government. It has carried out surveys and estimates on the cost of restoration, only to reach stalemate in its attempts to buy the property.

Marika Schembri, who lives in the villa and co-owns it with her siblings, told The Daily Telegraph: “Something is going to happen to this house one 
day, but maybe not for another 10 years.” The Queen reportedly asked to see the villa when she and the Duke visited Malta in 2007 for their diamond wedding anniversary, but the then owners are said to have refused. She was last inside in 1992, during a State visit.

The grand home, which was rented by the Duke’s uncle, Earl Mountbatten, at the time the couple stayed there, could eventually be turned into a museum, but there are fears that if the row cannot be settled the current owners could sell it to developers wanting to demolish it and build flats. Astrid Vella, a local conservationist, said earlier this year: “This villa not only has immense architectural value, but is the only house outside of the UK that a British monarch has resided in.

“If the Queen asks to visit this property again, it shouldn’t be in this state. We must save it. Tourists are disgusted at how we treat our heritage.” The government of Malta said it had begun the process of buying the villa “a long time ago” and “believes that the property is one of historical heritage”. During their time at Villa Guardamangia (Italian for “look and eat”), the future Queen would drive around the island unescorted in her open-topped car, or pop to the cinema to watch a film, holding hands with the Duke, who was based on the island as commander of HMS Magpie in the Mediterranean Fleet.

“They were so relaxed and free, I think it was their happiest time,” said John Dean, Mountbatten’s butler. The Queen’s Malta trip promises to be one of the most emotional overseas visits of her life.

Not only will she and the Duke revisit some of their old haunts but the Queen will attend a meeting of Commonwealth leaders for what could be the last time. The Commonwealth, which has grown from seven members to 53 during her reign, is widely regarded as her proudest achievement, and she has only missed two of the biennial summits since they were instigated in 1971. But with the next two summits taking place on the other side of the world, the Queen, who no longer travels long distances, may not have the chance to attend another. The next time it could be close to home will be in 2021, when she will be 95, but only three member states — the UK, Cyprus and Malta — are within easy reach and there is no guarantee any of them will be chosen as the venue.

The Queen is expected to be given a rousing welcome by the Maltese people in St George’s Square in the centre of Valletta, where she and the Duke will be received by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. On Saturday they will have a chance to return to the Maria Racecourse, home to the Malta Polo Club, where the Duke learnt to play the sport. They will also take a boat journey across Valletta Harbour, as they did in 1954 when they took the six-year-old Prince Charles with them.