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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2026 CULTURE New Queen Elizabeth II biography launched at the Phoenicia Malta The launch of Robert Hardman's latest book continues the hotel's history with the late Queen, who danced in the Grand Ballroom as a newlywed THE Phoenicia Malta hosted the island's launch of Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story – royal biographer Robert Hardman's centenary portrait of the late Queen. In coordination with the Brit- ish High Commission and the US Embassy, The Phoenicia Malta welcomed guests to the evening event on Tuesday 26 May to officially launch the lo- cal release, just weeks after the book's UK publication by Mac- millan in April. Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story draws on Hardman's unprecedented access to her family, staff and advisers, and includes an inter- view with the last state visitor of her record-breaking reign, US President Donald Trump. Hardman has penned several acclaimed works on the Brit- ish royal family, including his 2024 Sunday Times No.1 best- seller Charles III. The Inside Story and Queen of Our Times, which was the Sunday Times Biography of the Year in 2022. The choice of venue for the Malta launch of his latest book was especially poignant, given the late Queen's history with – and affection for – The Phoe- nicia Malta. "Malta plays such an impor- tant part in the story of Eliza- beth II," says Hardman. "She adored her time here as the young wife of a Royal Navy of- ficer – regarding it as her 'hap- py place' – and both she and the Duke of Edinburgh loved the country in later life, too. One of the landmarks of her carefree younger days in Mal- ta was the famous Phoenicia Hotel. So, where better to talk about the life of the most fa- mous woman in the world?" The hotel had been open for just two years when the then-Princess Elizabeth came to live on the island in 1949 as a young Royal Navy wife. The Grand Ballroom had already become the smartest room in town, where she often danced. By her own later accounts, those Malta years gave her a freedom she would rarely know again. She returned to The Phoenicia Malta in November 2005 as Sovereign and Head of the Commonwealth, this time to host a state reception in that same ballroom. "Few hotels carry a connec- tion to Queen Elizabeth II quite like ours," says Robyn Pratt, General Manager of The Phoenicia Malta. "When she passed away, many locals visit- ed just to 'sit with the Queen', as here is where people in Mal- ta feel closest to her. To host the Malta launch of her cente- nary biography in the very ho- tel where so much of her own story unfolded has been a priv- ilege we will not forget." Robert Hardman's Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The In- side Story (Macmillan) is avail- able now. Robert Hardman Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story draws on Hardman's unprecedented access to her family, staff and advisers, and includes an interview with the last state visitor of her record-breaking reign, PUS resident Donald Trump