The Duke of Cambridge was in the Mediterranean nation representing Queen Elizabeth II at the 50th anniversary of Malta's independence.

He went to a Thanksgiving Mass at St John's Cathedral in Valetta, Malta's capital on September 21.

The Prince sat next to the British High Commissioner and a few seats from Malta's president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

Principal celebrant at the Mass was Archbishop Paul Cremona of Malta.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said this was the first "public" Mass the Prince has attended.

Aides told media that Prince William might have attended Masses privately in the past.

In a private capacity, Prince William might have attended the Requiem Mass for Frances Kydd, his Catholic maternal grandmother, at the Catholic Cathedral in Oban on June, 2004.

In Malta, Prince William was travelling alone, without his wife, Catherine, and 14-month-old son George.

Catherine, who is pregnant, was supposed to go to Malta on what would have been her first solo official visit.

But she withdrew because of ongoing morning sickness.

At a function with the Maltese president, Prince William apologising to waiting crowds that he was standing in for his wife, but joked that Malta "might not survive baby George".

"There's too many precious things around here," he joked with the president.

Bishop Charles Scicluna, auxiliary bishop of Malta, said: "I told the Duke that the Duchess was very much in our prayers and she has the prayers of the Maltese people."

"It is wonderful time extending one's family. [The Prince] said 'Fingers crossed, she'll be better soon'."

When Prince William ascends the British throne he will inherit the title of supreme governor of the Church of England.

He also has strong Catholic links because he is distantly related to Fr Ignatius (George) Spencer, whose cause for sainthood is presently being considered by the Vatican.

A great-great-great uncle of the Prince's mother, Diana, Fr Spencer was an Anglican vicar before he became a Catholic at the age of 31, then a priest and ultimately a Passionist.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Daily Mail
• Times of Malta
• Image: Royalista

The former archbishop in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, resigned amid scandal last year.

Maltese auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna has been asked to listen to and report the testimony of past and present clergy in the archdiocese.

Bishop Scicluna served as the promoter of justice at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith until 2012, when he was made auxiliary bishop in Malta.

At the Vatican post, he was known for reviewing hundreds of case files of priests who were eventually dismissed from ministry for sexual abuse.

Bishop Scicluna is most known for being asked by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2005 to collect testimony regarding the serial sexual abuser and founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Fr Marcial Maciel.

Cardinal O'Brien resigned last February after being accused of sexual misconduct dating back 30 years.

The accusations came from five men, three of them priests and one a former priest.

Cardinal O'Brien later admitted that his sexual conduct had fallen short of that expected of priest, archbishop and cardinal.

Since then he has been ordered to undergo a period of prayer and penance and is living outside of the archdiocese.

Commentators believe this is the first time a pope has ordered an investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct of a cardinal.

Other cardinals and bishops have resigned following allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct.

The cardinal's successor, Archbishop Leo Cushley, has conducted informal inquiries into the allegations and in February travelled to Rome to give his view.

The investigation was announced by the archbishop in two letters to his clergy on April 1.

Archbishop Cushley asked priests who wish to speak to Bishop Scicluna to "prepare their narrative in writing".

Archbishop Cushley wrote that the Maltese bishop will "listen to and report the testimony offered by past and present members of the clergy . . . concerning any incidents of sexual misconduct committed against them by other members of the clergy whomsoever".

Cardinal O'Brien was not named in Archbishop Cushley's letters.

Sources:

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Image: The Guardian