Malta’s high commissioner to the UK Manuel Mallia presented his diplomatic credentials to Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, in a remote meeting at Buckingham Palace.
The royal audience comes nine months after Mallia resigned from parliament to be nominated to the top diplomatic post.
Mallia quit parliament, where he served as a Labour MP, in July 2021 and received Britain’s go-ahead to serve as High Commissioner in the country late last year.
He was replaced in parliament by Jonathan Attard, who is now Justice Minister.
Mallia succeeds Joseph Cole as High Commissioner to the UK.
He presented his credentials to the Queen at a virtual meeting at Buckingham Palace on Friday, accompanied by his wife Elena Codruta. The meeting was one of two audiences that the Queen held with incoming ambassadors, with the other being a similar event with Rwanda’s new high commissioner to the UK, Johnston Busingye.
It was the Queen’s first day of royal duties since she took a week off to celebrate her 96th birthday.