page_title: Admiralty House (Valletta)
section_title: French occupation and British rule
hierarchical_section_title: Admiralty House (Valletta) / History / French occupation and British rule
caption_attribution_description: English: Admiralty House entrance hall Valletta
context_page_description: Admiralty House, formerly known as Casa Miari, Palazzo Don Raimondo and by several other names, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was originally built in 1569–70 as two private houses by Fra Jean de Soubiran dit Arafat, a knight of the Order of St. John. The houses were later leased to various owners, including Fra Raimondo de Sousa y Silva, who rebuilt them a single residence between 1761 and 1763.
  In 1808, Louis Charles, Count of Beaujolais was received at the house, where he died of tuberculosis. From 1821 to 1961, the building was the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, hence its name. The building housed the National Museum of Fine Arts from 1974 to 2016. Currently there are plans to restore Admiralty House and convert it into the Office of the Attorney General.
context_section_description: During the French occupation of Malta, the government offered the building to Bishop Vincenzo Labini as a seminary, but these plans were never implemented due to the Maltese uprising and blockade of 1798–1800. At this point, the coats of arms on the façade were defaced according to orders issued by Napoleon.
  After Malta became a British protectorate in 1800, the house was occupied by Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. It was then let to Alexander Macaulay, Secretary to the Civil Commissioner, between August 1802 and June 1803. In 1808, the palace received Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans and Louis Charles, Count of Beaujolais during their visit to Malta. Louis Charles died of tuberculosis there on 29 May 1808, and was buried at Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
  From 1808 to 1820, the British military authorities occupied the building without paying any rent. In 1821, the building was officially leased to the naval authorities as the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, becoming known as Admiralty House. The building received various notable personalities as residents or guests, including Lord Mountbatten, Winston Churchill, King George V and Queen Elizabeth. The building was handed over to the Government of Malta in 1961.
caption: Entrance hall leading to the grand staircase
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