President George Vella has spoken of the Queen's eyes joy when he told her in 2020 that her old Malta residence in Guardamangia was being restored. The president was speaking about his recollections of Queen Elizabeth II when interviewed in London by CNN. The president, who was in London for Elizabeth's state funeral on Monday, met the queen several times over the years. Villa Guardamangia was the residence of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip between 1949 and 1951 in what she had described as the happiest years of her life. The queen never returned to the villa after that time, and it fell into disrepair, reduced to little more than a crumbling shell, bereft of any of the furniture of the time. But Heritage Malta, which acquired it some years ago, has launched a project to restore it to what it would have looked like more than 70 years ago. It has appealed for pictures and information to help it go about furnishing it once structural works are completed. It also plans to apply for some €10m in EU funds for the project. President Vella said the queen had described Malta to him as the "isle of happy memories". "She was really happy" when told in 2020 that the old...