Queen Elizabeth's Old Island Home Is Shabby but for Sale

Malta's 'dilapidated' Villa Guardamangia is up for grabs for $6.8M
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 12, 2019 5:03 AM CDT
The Queen Didn't Always Live in the UK. That Home Is Now for Sale
Valletta, Malta.   (Getty Images/KavalenkavaVolha)

For a couple of years after World War II, when she was still just a princess, Queen Elizabeth lived in a home rented by her husband's uncle outside of the United Kingdom, the only time she resided away from her native land. That estate in Malta, Villa Guardamangia, is now on the market, a 17,000-square-foot fixer-upper that's yours for $6.8 million, reports the BBC. Although the Telegraph notes overgrown gardens and a weathered exterior, the real estate listing for the six-bedroom, three-bath residence on the Homes of Quality site describes it as "an amazing grand Palazzo style property" with "many authentic architectural features," including an "imposing wide fronted facade," "an elaborate porch," and the "original wide staircase."

"The property is just crying out for a great conversion and will make a superb residence or possibly a commercial venue," adds the listing for the home on the edges of Valletta, Malta's capital. Perhaps more valuable than the bells and whistles a buyer would acquire, however, is the knowledge that the queen and Prince Philip lived here between 1949 and 1951, soon after they wed, as Philip was stationed in Malta for the Royal Navy—and that Elizabeth's memories there are pleasant ones. "Visiting Malta is always very special for me," she said there on a 2015 trip to the island. "I remember happy days here with Prince Phillip when we were first married." (The queen might need a getaway if Brexit violence ever breaks out.)

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