Ben Roberts-Smith’s invite to the Queen’s funeral next week has left Australia’s High Commission in London ‘deeply concerned’, with officials revealing they had expected him to turn down the invitation.
The embattled veteran is currently at the centre of a defamation ‘trial of the century’ against Nine and the subject of ongoing alleged war crimes investigations.
But Mr Roberts-Smith will be one of four Victorian Cross recipients heading to Her Majesty’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19.
He was invited along with Afghanistan veterans Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran and Vietnam veteran Keith Payne.
A source at Australia’s High Commission in London told The Australian they had expected Mr Roberts-Smith not to go and that officials are now very uneasy about his attendance.
Queen Elizabeth greets Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith in 2011
Mr Roberts-Smith is one of four Australian Victoria Cross recipients Her Majesty wanted to be invited to her funeral before she died
Mr Roberts-Smith won the Victoria Cross for storming a fortified enemy machine gun position in Afghanistan and killing three insurgents when his unit was pinned back.
The soldier recently opened up about his invitation, hailing Her Majesty for her personal sacrifice and ‘magnificent’ example.
He is one of just a handful of Australians given the exclusive invitation, joining officials including Anthony Albanese and the Governor-General David Hurley and a handful of celebrated Australian civilians at the service.
Among them is Danny Abdallah, the father who lost three of his children to a drunk and drugged driver in Oatlands, western Sydney, in 2020, and Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s invitation has also been met with outrage from some reporters at Channel Nine.
The decorated soldier is currently at the at the centre of a defamation ‘trial of the century’ against Nine and the subject of ongoing alleged war crimes investigations
Nine journalist Nick McKenzie, whose stories are among those that prompted the defamation action, did not miss the chance to attack Mr Roberts-Smith on twitter
The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes journalist Nick McKenzie marked the occasion by tweeting that Mr Roberts-Smith has been the ‘subject of multiple… alleged war crimes investigations by the Australian Federal Police.’
No charges have ever been laid against Mr Roberts-Smith.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation over 2018 reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, as well as other allegations, all of which he denies.
Proceedings in the Federal Court case ended on July 27 after more than 100 days of hearings.
But that will be far from his mind when he attends the funeral next week. Mr Roberts-Smith publicly welcomed his invitation to the service by speaking publicly about the occasion he met the Queen in 2011.
The decorated digger said it was a ‘surreal’ experience and that he was ‘taken aback’ by her ‘kindness’ and ‘intelligence’.
He recalled to the West Australian that ‘she sort of dropped her handbag on the double-seated couch and pointed for me to sit down, and I assumed that she would sit opposite me, but she sat right next to me and grabbed my arm and started talking to me about just having just flown back from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at that time.’
Mr Roberts-Smith described the late Monarch as ‘magnificent’, adding that she was ‘stoic leader’ and ‘a lovely lady’.
‘I have a very deep respect for Her Majesty and everything that she has sacrificed in her life and what she has achieved.’
Once the protocols were adhered to, such as bowing and official photos, Roberts-Smith remembered meeting the Queen in her private apartment as a ‘surreal’ experience
The celebrated but embattled ex-soldier, who is waiting the outcome of his epic defamation trial against Nine publishing, is one of only 10 Australian civilians given the exclusive invitation
Mr Roberts-Smith described the late Monarch as ‘magnificent’, adding that she was ‘stoic leader’ and ‘a lovely lady
Mr Roberts-Smith is one of four Australian Victoria Cross recipients Her Majesty asked to be invited before she died.
The others are Keith Payne, Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran, who are all former soldiers, as well as policeman and George Cross holder Michael Pratt.
Included among the Australian civilians invited are legendary racehorse trainer Chris Waller and Valmai Dempsey, the 2022 senior Australian of the Year, who has volunteered for St John Ambulance for more than 50 years.
Dylan Alcott is one of the few Aussies who have been invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
Legendary race horse trainer Chris Waller is also expected to receive a formal invite, but has said he’s yet to get the official call
Dr Miriam Rose, the 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, has also been named on the attendance list.
She became the Northern Territory’s first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher in 1975 and pioneered a unique brand of education, fusing Western knowledge with cultural learning.
Shanna Whan, the 2022 Australian of the Year Local Hero, will also attend. After overcoming a battle with alcohol addiction, she has dedicated her life to helping others get sober.
Protocol means only ten Aussies are able to attend, excluding dignitaries
Saba Abraham, a local hero from Queensland, has also been named by Mr Albanese to attend.
She is an Eritrean refugee and played a vital role in combatting the spread of Covid-19 as the Chairperson of the Brisbane Community Leaders Gathering.
Ms Abraham helped translate vital health updates into various languages.
Kim Smith – a local hero from Tasmania, has been given the green light to go. He oversaw the formation of Reclink, which organises sporting activities to support young people struggling with drug addiction.
Trudy Lin, the 2022 Young Australian of the Year, and one of only 20 practising specialists in Australia’s Special Needs Dentistry, has also been invited.
RSL Australia president Greg Melick will also attend on behalf of the organisation, of which the Queen was a patron.
‘She dedicated her life to the service of her nation and the peoples of the Commonwealth and never shirked this great responsibility,’ Mr Melick said of the Queen’s death.
Danny Abdallah and his wife Leila lost three of their children, and their niece, when they were ran over by a drunk driver in Sydney in February, 2020. Mr Abdallah has been invited to the Queen’s funeral
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his girlfriend Jodie Haydon will be at the service
‘The RSL will be forever grateful for her commitment, encouragement and support for our veterans and service personnel.’
Despite most of the attendees being named Australians of The Year, last year’s award winner Grace Tame will not be attending.
‘The Australians who have been invited I think, embody an extraordinary contribution to our nation,’ Mr Albanese said.
The Australians will join US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden at the service.
Senior Australian of the Year winner Valmai Dempsey is another to receive an invitation
Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann has also been invited to the funeral service for Her Majesty
Shanna Whan has dedicated her life to helping those in rural communities overcome alcoholism
Mr Waller, who is best known for training the recording-breaking mare Winx, was in regular contact with the Queen leading up to her death on Thursday, aged 96.
The monarch had a passion for thoroughbred horse racing and has one of her horses, Chalk Stream, in Mr Waller’s stable.
The Sydney-based trainer and his wife Stephanie gave Her Majesty a shoe from Winx’s final win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes as a memento at a lunch during Royal Ascot.
Wheelchair tennis champ Alcott met the Queen in May 2022 over a videocall with other Aussies honoured on Australia Day.
During his introduction, the 31-year-old discussed his sporting achievements and showdowns with British tennis stars over the years.
‘I fortunately won a couple Wimbledon titles and beat some Great Britain players, which I was happy about but maybe you weren’t so happy about,’ he joked.
The cheeky quip was enough to draw a chuckle out of the Queen.
While it’s understood wheelchair tennis champion Alcott will be at the funeral, former Australian of the Year Grace Tame was not on the invite list
The 15-time Grand Slam singles title holder then explained the reason he ‘gets up in the morning’ is to change people’s perceptions of disability.
He also described what the Australian of the Year award meant to him.
‘I get emotional talking about it to be honest,’ Alcott said.
‘When I was a young kid I used to hate myself, your Majesty.
‘If I thought anybody in a wheelchair – let alone myself – would be Australian of the Year, I wouldn’t have believed you.
‘When I told my mum that I was getting to meet you, she cried.’
The Queen’s funeral, and the surrounding events, are set to become one of the biggest events in Britain since the Olympics, with an estimated two million people flooding to central London every day.
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