Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Edward return to the UK to face royal 'snub'

The social media page "UK in Malta" revealed that the couple are now returning home after a successful trip.

They said: "TRHs The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's visit to #Malta has officially come to an end.

"The British High Commission in Malta would like to extend its thanks to all those who were involved in the visit and for helping to make it special."

The trip followed comments by a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II, where she appeared to snub the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

Lady Pamela Hicks supports King Charles's idea of a slimmed-down monarchy, according to her daughter India Hicks.

She told Marie Claire: “[My mother] thinks that it is modernising in a way that it should, and she absolutely believes in the thinning down of the Royal Family and making it this core hard-working foursome.”

The 57-year-old was referring to King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales as the “hard-working foursome”.

In so doing, Hicks omitted the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, two of the hardest-working members of the Royal Family.

Prince Edward performed a whopping 297 engagements in 2023 - finishing in third place behind Princess Anne and the King.

Meanwhile, the number of royal engagements carried out by Sophie has more than doubled this month compared to the same time in 2023, as reported by The Times.

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The duchess completed 37 engagements in September, compared to 18 last year.

This comes amid Princess Kate's absence from public life.

The mother-of-three underwent chemotherapy for much of this year.