Wearing sunglasses and sporting a business-casual look, Prince William yesterday enjoyed the same boat ride that his grandmother did more than 60 years ago when she was on the way to meet his grandfather.
The prince was ferried from Vittoriosa to Valletta in a red dgħajsa tal-pass used by Queen Elizabeth II between 1949 and 1951.
Back then she was still a princess and boarded the boat from Custom House in Valletta to be ferried across to Fort St Angelo where her husband, Prince Philip, was stationed.
Yesterday the boat was steered in the opposite direction by its owner, Andy Whibley, who runs a water taxi business in Vittoriosa, after he bought the dgħajsa from Carmelo Camilleri 10 years ago.
The Duke of Cambridge boarded at Vittoriosa and was taken past Fort St Angelo and Bighi before landing at Custom House.
The mini-cruise came after a visit to Aċċess centre and St Lawrence church in Vittoriosa.
Earlier in the day the royal attended thanksgiving Mass – the first time he has attended a Catholic public Mass – at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
When the service was over he viewed the masterpieces of Caravaggio, displayed inside the cathedral.
The warm welcome you’ve shown us reflects the affinity that Malta and the UK have enjoyed for so long and which we hope to continue for much longer
Before entering the church he was accorded a salute by the Armed Forces of Malta contingent in St John Square. The AFM band played God Save the Queen, the Commonwealth anthem, and later the Maltese National Anthem, before an inspection of the guard with President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.
At about 3pm, after he hopped off the ferry, Prince William headed for his last appointment that would end his two-day visit to Malta.
This was a garden party hosted by British High Commissioner Rob Luke at the commission’s residence in San Pawl Tat-Tarġa.
When Prince William arrived he had brief meetings with various people including former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi and his wife Kate, as well as Violet de Marco, the widow of former president Guido de Marco, and Police Commissioner Ray Zammit.
He also met staff and young patients from Mater Dei Hospital’s Rainbow Ward.
Mr Luke thanked the prince, as well as the prime minister and the president for their support in organising the visit. He also thanked guests for braving the blistering heat.
“The warm welcome you’ve shown us reflects the affinity that Malta and the UK have enjoyed for so long and which we hope to continue for much longer,” he said.