Prince William peers out of a black stretch luxury car as it turns down a street in Malta’s capital city, Valletta.
The car, in a caravan of six others, disappears round the corner as it heads down towards the waterfront, where the Queen Victoria cruise liner towers over nearby buildings.
The British royal was in Malta in September 2014 to celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence from the UK.
Amid the sweltering heat and fanfare are ageing British tourists; attracted by Malta’s climate and its strong ties to the former empire. Every year, some 440,000 of them descend in throngs.
Britain may have closed down its last military base on the island in 1979 but its influence remains huge.
Bilateral trade agreements with Malta generate around €500 million a year; English food is served in most restaurants; British shops appear on every other corner; the natives speak English; and the traffic, as in the UK, is left-handed.
But the Mediterranean island nation of just 420,000 people also attracts many other EU nationals who come for work.
Nikolaj Nielsen