THE villa in Malta where the Queen lived for three years has been snapped up after it was featured in the Netflix series The Crown.
The Queen has described her time at Villa Guardamangia as one of the happiest periods of her life.
From 1949 to 1951, the villa served as the royal residence for Princess Elizabeth and her then new husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
He had been stationed in the country as a young officer for the Royal Navy, and she was not crowned Queen until 1953.
The Queen said the villa is special to her because it offered them their only real taste of life as an ordinary couple before she succeeded her dad King George VI.
The Maltese government has now bought the villa in a bid to turn it into a popular tourist attraction.
Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat did not say how much the government paid for it.
But since June it had been advertised since June for 5.6million (6.5 million).
Villa Guardamangia, was built in 1900, with six bedrooms, six bathrooms and a grand ‘sala nobile’ living room.
The property which boasts 1,560 square foot, also has two garages, stables, cellars and a quarters for servants who work there.
But it had fallen into a state of disrepair and most of its contents have been sold.
In 2015, on a trip to Malta, the Queen was presented with a painting of her former home.
She said: “Visiting Malta is always very special for me.
“I remember happy days here with Prince Philip when we were first married.”
Their time in Malta was featured in the first episode of The Crown.
The couple were depicted as young newlyweds who were extremely happy.
The Duke used to row quite a lot, while Princess Elizabeth was always driven in a speedboat.
