Royal

Special gun salutes for Prince Philip in Malta – where he lived with Queen – and rest of world honours Duke

17th April 2021

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GUN tributes for Prince Philip have been fired in Malta – in honour of his time spent living there with the Queen.

It comes as the world honours the Duke of Edinburgh today, as he is laid to rest.

Read our Prince Philip funeral live blog for the latest updates

Guns in Malta fired in tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh

A ceremony Prince Philip at the Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden

The Union flag waves half mast at the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters tournament in Monaco

Sweden, Denmark and Monaco have also held remembrance services for the royal – with flags lowered to half mast.

Queen Margrethe ordered flags at the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen to be lowered to mark the day.

The Malta Heritage Trust fired a nine-gun salute this morning at the Upper Barrakka Saluting Battery overlooking Grand Harbour, in Valletta, Malta.

Prince Philip and the Queen treasured the period spent in the country, living in a Mediterranean 18th-century villa – which offered them their only chance to live as a relatively ordinary couple.

It comes as:

Philip told the Queen to “shut up, you silly woman” as the royal couple bickered “sweetly” during lockdown
Queen receives a message of condolence from Canadian PM Justin Trudeau
Royal Family pay heartwarming tribute to Prince Philip as they reveal the ‘unique touches’ duke planned for funeral
Mike Tindall shares a sweet photo of Prince Philip with daughter Mia
Meghan and Harry’s pals Omid Scobie and Gayle King to lead US coverage of Philip’s funeral
Queen takes new puppies for a walk at Frogmore where Harry is staying the night before Philip’s funeral

They moved there when Philip served on HMS Chequers with the Mediterranean Fleet, and they called it home between 1949 to 1951.

The pair enjoyed parties and picnics and could take boat trips to explore the area.

The future Queen even enjoyed her first visit to the hairdressers during her island stay.

Before she ascended the throne in 1953, she split her time between Malta and England, leaving a young Prince Charles with his grandparents during the visits.

The Queen has described her time at Villa Guardamangia as one of the happiest periods of her life.

SAD FAREWELL

She said: “Visiting Malta is always very special for me. I remember happy days here with Prince Philip when we were first married.”

Prince Philip died last Friday at Windsor Castle, with the Queen said to be by his side.

His funeral takes place this afternoon, with 30 mourners.

In keeping with his character over the last few months, the Duke will get his dying wish of a small “no-fuss” funeral, largely due to ongoing Covid restrictions.

The poignant ceremony will end with his body being taken to lie in the Royal Vault within St George’s chapel, where he will wait to be reunited with his beloved Queen.

The service will begin with a ceremonial procession, setting off from the state entrance at 2.45pm with the Prince of Wales and members of Royal Family following on foot behind Philip’s coffin.

All eyes will be on warring Harry and Wills, who will come face-to-face for the first time since the former left the UK for a new life in California.

But ahead of the funeral the pair say they want the day to be about Philip, rather than their dispute.

One insider said: “To be fair, both William and Harry have made clear that they wish to focus on mourning their grandfather and do not want anything to get in the way of that.

“But it has made everyone doubly nervous about saying anything that could be remotely construed of being critical of the other side. It’s been a minefield.”