The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have recreated pictures of the late Queen and her husband Prince Philip, which were taken more than 70 years ago in the Maltese villa they lived in when they were the Edinburghs.

Edward and Sophie toured Villa Guardamangia on Wednesday, and heard about restoration work taking place on the former residence of Queen Elizabeth II and Philip when they were a young married couple.

The couple lived there between 1949 and 1951 while the prince was stationed in Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer.

Edward and Sophie met Elizabeth Pule whose mother, Jessie, was a housekeeper when the late Queen and Philip lived in the villa on the outskirts of the capital Valletta.

Edward told her: “I know that my mother spotted your mother in a crowd when she came on a visit.

“She never forgot her.”

The pair were taken on a tour of the house during which they walked through an exhibition of photos of the late Queen and Philip set up in the garden.

Edward and Sophie waved at two people who were stood on the balcony of a different property overlooking the garden.

They had a Union flag and Malta flag draped over their balcony and remained there for the majority of the visit.

The duke and duchess were left alone at the top end of the garden, near a derelict fountain, to have a private moment, chatting among themselves and taking in their surroundings.

Bells sounded midway through the tour, which were rung specially by a local priest in honour of the couple’s visit.

Edward and Sophie finished the tour by posing for a photo on the villa’s roof, and were asked to swap positions to recapture a famous photo of the late Queen and Philip taken on the same roof decades ago.

They waved to a small gathering of people outside the property as they got into a car to head towards a church service.