Royal couple arrives today

Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Malta at 5 p.m. today for an overnight stay that happens to coincide with her diamond wedding anniversary.

She is arriving with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, on a stopover en route to Uganda, where she is paying a state visit to inaugurate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The Queen was last on the island almost exactly two years ago, when the CHOGM was organised here.

During their 12-hour visit, the Queen and Prince Philip are meeting couples who are also celebrating their 60th year of married life, as well as those halfway there and others due to get married next week.

The royal couple arrives at 5 p.m. and will be driven straight to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta to meet the 30 couples, who answered an advert in the media.

They are being greeted by the Prime Minister and Mrs Gonzi at the gardens at about 5.20 p.m.

Following a brief tour, the plan is for the royal couple to plant a tree in the gardens, whose plaque refers to the Queen's diamond wedding anniversary.

San Anton Palace in Attard is their next stop, where they will spend the evening before they leave early tomorrow morning.

Special traffic arrangements have been made for today's visit so that the public can watch the Queen as she is driven to and from Valletta.

From 4 p.m., St Anne Street in Floriana, the area around the War Memorial, Gilormu Cassar Avenue and Castille Place are being closed off to traffic.

Park and Ride vans are being allowed access on their usual route until 5 p.m., after which, they will be diverted through City Gate.

Crucifix Hill is also being closed to traffic, which is expected to return to normal by 6 p.m.