“Queen Elizabeth, dressed in an aqua blue coat with pink flowers adorning her trademark hat, was serenaded by a harp as she arrived to a red-carpet welcome at a huge sandstone conference centre on the seafront in the Maltese capital Valletta”.
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The 89-year-old monarch’s opening address certainly sounded like a valedictory, as she reflected on what had been achieved since the Commonwealth was created in 1949 – coincidentally the same year she and Prince Philip came to live in Malta for two years.
In what Friday’s Daily Telegraph described as a “hint” for her views on the Commonwealth’s future leadership, she praised her son Charles, the Prince of Wales, saying she could not wish “to have been better supported and represented in the Commonwealth than by the Prince of Wales who continues to give so much to it with great distinction”.
In what sounded like valedictory remarks, the Queen said she has cherished her time as leader of the Commonwealth, a role she has held for more than 60 years.
Baroness Scotland, who was nominated by her birth-country Dominica, edged out career diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders, who was proposed by Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Botswana’s Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, the deputy secretary general of the commonwealth secretariat.
“I want to put that on the agenda of the Commonwealth, particularly when you consider how many young people there are in the Commonwealth”.
French president Francois Hollande, who Mr Cameron met for talks on Monday in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris that left 130 dead, will attend talks on climate change in Malta ahead of a meeting of world leaders at a summit in Paris on Monday.
The Queen will also be accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on the tour.
Details of the Queen’s exchange with Mr Turnbull were not revealed by the prime minister’s staff. However, Buckingham Palace did release a picture of the exchange, among many others, via its Twitter account.
Heavy security is in place on Malta, with armed soldiers and police on patrol and warships prominently on guard in the harbours.
After the opening, the leaders gathered with the Queen for the official CHOGM photograph.
Addressing Commonwealth summit on Climate Change in Valletta Prime Minister said climate change poses a serious threat to human life in the world.
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The prime minister flies from Malta to Paris on Sunday for key talks to reach a global agreement on tackling climate change.
