How could this princess refuse her ‘knight in shining armour’?

Seconds before being ‘executed’ in Mdina square yesterday afternoon, 31-year-old Antons Loss was asked if he had a final wish.

“I would like to marry this beautiful girl,” he told the knight holding a sword against his neck.

The beautiful girl was his speechless girlfriend, Victoria Golava, 23, who had no idea he had taken her to see the Mdina re-enactment to execute a plan of his own – a marriage proposal.

Mr Loss had planned to pop the question for some time but was waiting for the right time.

When he learnt some friends were involved in the event as part of the Medieval Mdina Festival, he seized the opportunity.

“Everyone wants to marry like a princess. The knights were the closest thing to the princess scene and Mdina was the ideal place because everything looks medieval,” he said a few minutes getting engaged.

Everyone wants to marry like a princess. The knights were the closest thing to the princess scene and Mdina was the ideal place as everything looks medieval

Mr Loss and his girlfriend, both from Latvia, have lived in Malta since January.

Yesterday, he told her that actors, including some of his friends, were re-enacting a battle between knights in St Paul’s Square.

When the fight was over, the victors’ commander said there were collaborators of the invading force among the crowd.

At that point, some of his knights dragged out Mr Loss and an accomplice –his girlfriend.

Mr Loss was taken on to the stage, accused of opening the city gates to allow the enemy in and forced to his knees.

As the executioner’s sword was placed against the back of his neck, he was asked for a final request. That is when he said he wanted to marry his girlfriend of four years.

“She couldn’t say anything. She was numb. It took her a while to realise what was happening.

“After a couple of seconds, she realised she needed to reply and was able to say yes. She had tears in her eyes – so did I and quite a few people in the crowd too,” Mr Loss said.