The Queen is said to have loved it because it was a home not a palace, a place where she and Prince Philip were able to live a relatively normal life.
Now rare images of her private bathroom and bedroom in the Villa Guardamangia in Malta, where the couple lived when they were first married between 1949 and 1951 - and the only home Her Majesty has known outside Britain, have been revealed.
Historian Bettany Hughes was allowed to film inside the property, which has fallen into disrepair but has been acquired by the Maltese government for restoration, for an episode of her TV series Treasures of the World.
In the Channel 4 show, she goes through the mid-18th century limestone house's front door with its brass dolphin knockers to explore what she calls the Queen and Philip's 'romantic hideaway' and a 'hidden wonder' of the Mediterranean island.
The villa had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a grand hall and servants' quarters, as well as separate apartments for the Queen, who was then Princess Elizabeth, and Philip, who was stationed in Malta as an officer of the Royal Navy (Pictured: Presenter Bettany Hughes exploring the villa)
Entering the Queen's yellow private bathroom, in which a broken lavatory can be seen, Hughes says: 'This is a corner where I feel I'm poking about a little bit too much.'
Historian Bettany Hughes (pictured) was allowed to film inside the property, which has fallen into disrepair but has been acquired by the Maltese government for restoration, for an episode of her TV series Treasures of the World
Despite having been empty for years and barely used since the royal couple left, Hughes describes the villa, with its high ceilings and shuttered windows, as 'hauntingly romantic'.
The villa had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a grand hall and servants' quarters, as well as separate apartments for the Queen, who was then Princess Elizabeth, and Philip, who was stationed in Malta as an officer of the Royal Navy.
Entering the Queen's yellow private bathroom, in which a broken lavatory can be seen, Hughes says: 'This is a corner where I feel I'm poking about a little bit too much.'
She also walks round the Queen's old bedroom, noting that it has a fireplace which was 'very unusual for Malta at the time'.
The villa, in a narrow street at the top of a hill outside the capital Valetta, was rented in 1929 to Philip's uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten, who made it available to the royal couple.
