High Commissioner invites Will and Kate to Malta as newlyweds

Malta’s High Commissioner to the UK, Joseph Zammit Tabona, is the only Maltese to attend the Royal Wedding today – what he refers to as an “exceptional” personal experience, beyond the “dilemma” of choosing a gift fit for a future king and queen.

He will be in the company of celebrities David and Victoria Beckham, comedian Rowan Atkinson, singer Elton John and foreign royals, with the vast majority of guests being family and friends.

The gilded invitations, issued in the name of The Queen, went out to 1,900 guests for the service at Westminster Abbey, with 650 moving on to the lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace and just 300 attending the evening dinner party.

The High Commissioner has an early start today: even though the anticipated wedding ceremony kicks off at 11 a.m., he has to be at Royal Hospital Chelsea by 8.30 a.m., from where transport has been organised.

“We have been given different coloured cards to go to our appropriate vehicles, where we will be seated in the same order we will be in at the Abbey to avoid any mix-up,” he explains of the meticulous organisation.

Being “lucky”, and also because he is High Commissioner and enjoys more “privileges” than ambassadors, Mr Zammit Tabona is hopeful he will have a good seat at Westminster to be able to see the bride and groom.

It is on to Lancaster House straight after, where Mr Zammit Tabona will join other High Commissioners, ambassadors and spouses at a reception to watch the Royal couple’s balcony appearance on big screens and the fly-past from the garden.

Spouses have not been invited to the wedding ceremony, because there was simply no space in Westminster Abbey to include them.

To make up for this, the wives have been invited to Lancaster House for a separate event while their husbands are at the wedding.

The dress code is uniform, morning coat or lounge suit, and Mr Zammit Tabona has opted for tails – like British Prime Minister David Cameron, “except that I was determined to go for the morning coat from the start”, he jokes, referring to his initial decision to wear normal work attire.

So what sort of a gift does one get the Royal couple, who would appear to have it all? Mr Zammit Tabona admits it was “no easy choice, taking the dilemma of ‘what to get someone who has everything’ to the extreme”.

The couple made it easier for guests, choosing a list of 26 charities to which they could donate. But the High Commissioner preferred to get them a personal and practical gift that represented Malta, and so Prince William and Princess Catherine could be drinking coffee from a Maltese silver coffee pot.

“They were not accepting personal gifts but I know they accepted ours, which was delivered by hand. It is better than a cheque. Every time they have a coffee, they may think of Malta.”

The High Commissioner attributes such fervent interest in the Royal Wedding to a “love for the monarchy and all that is traditional, as well as the popularity of the Royal couple”.

“The Royal Family is an important institution in the UK and represents a third of the world population through the Commonwealth,” he says.

That, as well as the “modern-day fairy tale” aspect, are what have made everyone – including the Maltese – want to join in the celebrations.

If he speaks to the bride and groom, he would reiterate what he wrote in a letter sent a few weeks ago, conveying his heartfelt congratulations and expressing his confidence that the “joyful occasion would provide an opportunity to enhance the relationship and re­affirm the deep historic affections between the People of Malta and the Royal Family”.

In the letter, Mr Zammit Tabona also invited the most sought-after couple to visit Malta as newlyweds – just like Prince William’s grandparents had done shortly after getting married.

Mr Zammit Tabona admits that of all the esteemed guests, it is The Queen he would most like to meet, although it would not be his first time. She had received him in private audience when he presented his letters of credence and it remains at the top of his list of life experiences.

He would rate this “one to remember, cherish and relate to my grandchildren. It is also an honour for me to represent the government and the Maltese”.

The only other Malta connection to the prestigious guest list is Maltese-born Igor Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. But he is not at the Royal Wedding as he is in the US, attending his nephew’s.