Queen of Malta

{{Short description|Elizabeth II's reign in Malta from 1964 to 1974}} {{Infobox monarchy | royal_title = Queen | realm = Malta | native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|mt|Reġina ta' Malta}}}}<ref>Malta Government Gazette No. 11,728, January 18, 1965, pp 149-150</ref><ref name="malta1"/> | border = | coatofarms = Coat of arms of Malta (1964–1975).svg | coatofarmssize = 120px | coatofarmscaption = Coat of arms of Malta | image = Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg | caption = '''Elizabeth II''' | style = Her Majesty | began = 21 September 1964 | ended = 13 December 1974 }}

Elizabeth II was the only monarch of the State of Malta, which existed from 1964 to 1974. The State of Malta was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy, which shared a monarch with other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. Her constitutional duties in Malta were mostly delegated to a Governor-General.

Following an amendment to the Constitution in 1974, the monarchy was abolished, with the country becoming the Republic of Malta, and the Queen being replaced as head of state by a President, although Malta remained in the Commonwealth of Nations.

==History== Elizabeth II became Queen of Malta with the passage of the Malta Independence Act 1964 (c. 86). The act transformed the British Crown Colony of Malta into the independent State of Malta. The Queen's executive powers were delegated to and exercised by the Governor-General of Malta.

Elizabeth II remained the head of state of Malta until the amendment of the Constitution of Malta on 13 December 1974, which abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Malta and the office of President of Malta.

Elizabeth II officially visited the Crown Colony of Malta in 1954 (3–7 May) and the State of Malta in 1967 (14–17 November).<ref name=visits>{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/QueenandCommonwealth/Commonwealthvisitssince19521.aspx|title=Commonwealth visits since 1952|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref> She referenced her 1967 visit in her Christmas Broadcast that year, saying: "Today Malta is independent, with the Crown occupying the same position as it does in the other self-governing countries of which I am Queen. This is the opening of a new and challenging chapter for the people of Malta and they are entering it with determination and enthusiasm."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/christmas-broadcast-1967|title=Christmas Broadcast 1967|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref>

thumb|120px|Plaque commemorating Queen's visit in Victoria (Gozo) in 1992 Prior to becoming queen she stayed on the islands four times between 1949 and 1951 to visit her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was stationed in Malta as a serving officer in the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/hmthequeen/accessioncoronation/accessionandcoronation.aspx|title=Accession and Coronation|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/TheQueenandspecialanniversaries/DiamondAnniversary/60facts.aspx |title=60 facts |publisher=Royal Household |work=Official website of the British monarchy |access-date=10 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008194238/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/TheQueenandspecialanniversaries/DiamondAnniversary/60facts.aspx |archive-date=October 8, 2015 }}</ref>

===Later visits=== Elizabeth II visited Malta after it became a republic in 1992 (28–30 May), 2005 (23–26 November), and 2007 (20 November).<ref name=visits /> She attended the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta on 26–28 November 2015, in her capacity as Head of the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/state-visit-malta-and-chogm|title=State Visit to Malta and CHOGM|date=27 October 2015|type=Press release|publisher=Royal Household|work=Official website of the British monarchy|access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref>

== Queen's Personal Flag for Malta == Elizabeth II had a personal flag for use in Malta, in her role as Queen of Malta.<ref>{{citation|title=Flag Bulletin, Volume 12-14|year=1973|publisher=Flag Research Center|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SErAQAAIAAJ|quote=Queen Elizabeth, who had a special standard for use in her role as Queen of Malta, was replaced by a president as head of state.}}</ref> The flag was used by the Queen when she was in Malta in 1967. The Queen's flag consisted of the Coat of arms of Malta in banner form defaced with a blue disc of the letter "E" crowned surrounded by a garland of gold roses defaces the flag, which is taken from the Queen's Personal Flag.<ref>{{citation|title=Flags of the World|year=1978|publisher=F. Warne|isbn=9780723220152|pages=27|quote=The Royal Standard had accordingly been designed for Sierra Leone, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malta.}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Flag Bulletin, Volume 27|year=1988|publisher=Flag Research Center|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jIrAQAAIAAJ|pages=134|quote=PERSONAL FLAGS The Royal Standard is the flag used to represent Queen Elizabeth II throughout the United Kingdom and dependencies, in all non-Commonwealth countries, and sometimes in the dominions. .. Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Mauritius ... Sierra Leone, Malta, and Trinidad and Tobago also had such flags.}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Flags of the World|year=1978|publisher=F. Warne|isbn=9780723220152|pages=130|quote=The Queen's Personal Standard for use in Malta was established on 31 October 1967, with the royal cypher on blue in the centre of a banner of the Arms, but this became obsolete when Malta became a Republic on 12 December 1974.}}</ref>

thumb|center|upright=1.2|The Queen's Personal Flag in Malta

==Styles==

Elizabeth II had the following styles in her role as the monarch of Malta:

*21 September 1964 – 18 January 1965: :'''In English:''' Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith<ref name="malta1">{{cite web|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/malta/00_1964_74_s.php|title=Malta: Heads of State: 1964-1974|publisher=archontology.org|access-date=22 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="1953 Gazette">{{London Gazette| issue = 39873| date = 26 May 1953| page = 3023| supp = y}}</ref> :'''In Maltese:''' {{lang|mt|Eliżabetta II, Għall-Grazzja t’Alla tar-Renju Unit tal-Britannja l-Kbira u ta’ l-Irlanda ta’ Fuq u tar-Renji u t-Territorji l-Oħra Tagħha, Reġina, Kap tal-Commonwealth u Difenditriċi tal-Fidi}}<ref name="malta1"/>

*18 January 1965 – 13 December 1974: :'''In English:''' Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Malta and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth<ref name="malta1"/><ref>A Royal proclamation affecting the change in the style was dated 1 Jan 1965 and took effect upon publication in the ''Government Gazette'', No. 11,728, 18 Jan 1965, pp. 149-150.</ref><ref name="stman">{{citation|isbn=9780230271005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0zODQAAQBAJ|title=The Statesman's Year-Book 1971-72: The Businessman's Encyclopaedia of All Nations|year=2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|pages=58}}</ref> :'''In Maltese:''' {{lang|mt|Eliżabetta II, Għall-Grazzja t’Alla, Reġina ta’ Malta u tar-Renji u t-Territorji l-Oħra Tagħha, Kap tal-Commonwealth}}<ref name="malta1"/><ref>{{citation|work=Malta|title=Laws Made by the Legislature During the Year ... Published by the Government of Malta and Its Dependencies: Volume 98|year=1965|publisher=Government Press|pages=237|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LXihLmilMgC}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.royal.uk/state-banquet-malta-23-november-2005 Speech delivered by Elizabeth II at State banquet in Malta, 23 November 2005] *[https://www.royal.uk/queens-speech-commonwealth-heads-government-meeting-malta-27-november-2015 Speech delivered by Elizabeth II at opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta, 25 November 2015]

Category:Government of Malta Category:Politics of Malta Malta Category:Heads of state of Malta Category:1964 establishments in Malta Category:1974 disestablishments in Malta Malta Malta Category:Political history of Malta