royal couple left malta in 1950 for the birth of elizabeths second child princess anne in august 1950 but they were back by christmasthey never again set foot in the villa after their departure in 1951 despite returning to malta several times in later yearson her most recent visit in 2015 the queen was presented with a painting of her old home by thenmaltese president marielouise coleiro precaoh look guardamangia thats very nice to have she was reported to have said adding that the property looks rather sad nowheritage museumfor many years after the royal couple departed villa guardamangia was occupied by a woman who lived alone using some of the ground floor roomsthe property fell into disrepair but repeated government attempts to buy it from the owners were rebuffed until earlier this yearit was finally acquired by heritage malta a government agency for some five million eurosthere is much work to be done pieces of statues that once stood in the garden are piled up in a room the servants quarters are derelict bathrooms are destroyed and traditional patterned maltese floor tiling which the princess reportedly found cold to walk on have fadedthe villa had separate apartments for the prince and the princess each including a bedroom walkin wardrobe an anteroom and a bathroom said curator gambinthe plan is not just to restore the villa to the way it looked several decades ago but also to turn it into a museum of maltas history as a british colony until independence in 1964 and the links with the british royal familydespite the hefty price tag the restored property could prove a major attraction for british tourists who account for a quarter of maltas tourism arrivals every year