Ben shared earlier this week that he was “deeply saddened” to hear about the Queen's passing, whilst confirming that he had been invited to the funeral.
“I feel deeply saddened by Her Majesty’s passing, I had an immense respect for her and she was someone I admired greatly,” he explained in a statement to NCA NewsWire.
“In every interaction, I had with the Queen she was warm, insightful and engaging. She was a magnificent monarch, a stoic leader, and importantly just a lovely lady.
“I feel extremely honoured to be fortunate enough to pay my respects to the Queen and humbled that she saw fit to include the Victoria Cross recipients in her funeral procession.”
Queensland MP and shadow assistant defence minister, Phillip Thompson, has slammed reports that Australian consulate staff questioned whether Ben should attend the funeral.
Posting on a private Instagram page, the Liberal MP slammed the situation as a disgrace. News.com shared screenshots of the private Instagram message which read, “All Victoria Cross recipients have been personally invited at the request of Her Majesty,”
“They all should have flown on (Anthony Albanese‘s) plane. A fundamental pillar of democracy is presumption of innocence.
“That hasn’t occurred for Ben or any of our soldiers, it’s been trial and conviction by the media. It’s disgusting.
“The consulate staff who made that comment about Ben attending should be sacked.”
Alongside the Prime Minister and Ben Roberts-Smith, ten more Aussies are in attendance of the Queen’s funeral, including disability advocate Dylan Alcott.