It is merely a "happy coincidence" that Queen Elizabeth II's overnight stay in Malta next Tuesday will coincide with her diamond wedding anniversary, British High Commissioner Nick Archer said yesterday.
Mr Archer said that contrary to reports, especially in the foreign press, the visit was not organised to celebrate her diamond anniversary in Malta with Prince Philip but as a stopover en route to Uganda where she will be paying a state visit for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Some reports have even characterised her visit as a "second honeymoon".
The Queen, who is the head of the Commonwealth, always pays a state visit to the country organising the CHOGM. Malta had organised the meeting in 2005, which was the last time the Queen was here.
During their 12-hour visit, the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, will be meeting couples who are also celebrating their 60th year of married life as well as other couples who are half way there and couples who are due to marry next week.
The royal couple arrive at 5 p.m. and will be driven straight to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta to meet the 30 couples.
All the couples who answered an advert in the media will be meeting the Queen and the Prince, Mr Archer said. They will include those who married in 1947, those who married in 1977 and others who are due to marry some time next week.
Charles Bonello, from the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Queen and Prince Philip will be greeted by the Prime Minister and Mrs Gonzi at the Upper Barrakka Gardens at about 5.20 p.m.
Following a brief tour, they will plant a tree whose plaque will record the Queen's diamond wedding anniversary.
They will then be taken to San Anton Palace in Attard where they will spend the evening. They will leave the following morning.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh married on November 20, 1947.
Malta is the only country outside the UK where they have lived. Prince Philip served here with the Royal Navy between 1949 and 1951, during which period the Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) visited several times, the longest visit being from November 1950 to February 1951.
They returned to the island in 1954, 1967, 1992 and 2005. In May 1992, Her Majesty inaugurated the 1940-43 Siege Bell monument across the road from the Lower Barrakka Gardens, commemorating the award of the George Cross to Malta by her father, King George VI, in April 1942. The Duke of Edinburgh visited Malta alone in 2001.
There will be special traffic arrangements for Tuesday's visit so that people 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 will be closed off to traffic.
Park and Ride vans will, however, be allowed access through their usual route until 5 p.m., after which they will be diverted through City Gate.
Crucifix Hill will also be closed to traffic. Traffic arrangements are expected to return to normal by 6 p.m.