Queen Will Finish Tour Of Malta With Harbour Trip

Queen Will Finish Tour Of Malta With Harbour Trip

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will complete their tour of Malta with a boat trip across Valletta Harbour.

They will travel from Kalkara to Customs Wharf in a traditional Maltese boat on the third and final day of their visit to their former home.

The Queen and Duke will also visit Heritage Malta, Kalkara, to see a collection of historical paintings, books and textiles, and watch a display of Maltese culture.

They will then watch a polo match at Marsa racecourse.

The couple are said to have a deep affection for the island where they spent happy times at the start of their marriage.

They returned to Malta for the monarch to officially open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) yesterday, attended by Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who accompanied the royal couple, will visit the Mdina before leaving the island.

Last night the Queen joked with the Canadian prime minister that he had "made her feel so old" after he spoke of her historic visits to Canada.

Justin Trudeau toasted the monarch at a Chogm banquet at the Corinthia Hotel in Malta.

He began his speech in French before joking that he is not the youngest prime minister but the newest.

Mr Trudeau went on to recount the Queen's past visits to Canada, including in Ottawa when she signed the Constitution Act in 1982.

He was visibly emotional as he spoke of his father attending the event before quipping that the Queen has "seen more of Canada than most Canadians".

The Queen responded by joking that the Canadian prime minister had made her feel "so old".

She said: "As Head of the Commonwealth, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you all here this evening.

"Thank you, Mr Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.

"We are grateful to be with you for the second Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting hosted by Malta, and I hope that this occasion will allow you to gather as friends and enjoy Malta's hospitality."

The Queen arrived at the Corinthia Hotel to be greeted by the Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat; UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon; Sir John Major, chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, and Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, they then greeted every national leader in turn.

The Queen was wearing a white state dress by Angela Kelly, with the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara with emerald drops.

She also wore a Garter Star and the Delhi Durbar necklace.

The Duchess was wearing a Grey Lace Bruce Oldfield dress and a Boucheron tiara. She also wore the Queen's family order, which was given to Camilla on her 60th Birthday by the monarch.

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