Australian of the Year recipient and champion wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott has been invited to the Queen’s funeral, which will be held at Westminister Abbey on September 19.
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The disability advocate is one of just ten Australians who have scored an invite to the funeral, which will see scores of world leaders and politicians travel to London.
Dylan famously made the Queen giggle during a zoom call earlier this year, where he made a number of cheeky quips.
During the call, he joked about his tennis career and retirement, telling the Queen he was “looking forward to coming to Wimbledon and drinking a Pimms this time rather than playing the whole time.”
His quip earned a chuckle from the monarch who replied with an “Oh, right!”
Alongside Dylan, champion horse trainer Chris Waller has also scored an invitation to the historic funeral.
Chris, who trained the champion horse Winx, cared for a number of the Queen’s horses and built a close relationship with her over the years.
Danny Abdallah, the Sydney father who lost his three children in a horror crash in 2020 has also been invited.
Kim Smith – a retired police officer and dedicated Rotary club member – is another Aussie invited to the exclusive funeral, as is Aboriginal elder Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM, a renowned artist and activist.
Saba Abraham, a refugee and multiculturalism advocate ,and Shanna Whan, the founder of ‘sober in the country’, have also been invited.
Both Dr Trudy Lin, the Young South Australian of the Year and Valmai Dempesy the Ssenior Australian of the Year have received invites to the historic event, as has Western Australia’s 2021 Australian of the Year, Professor Helen Milroy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his partner Jodi Haydon, Governor-General David Hurley and his wife Linda will also be in attendance.
Whilst world leaders have been urged to travel on commercial flights to ease the carbon footprint of the event, Anthony Albanese made headlines this week after he dismissed the request. He will instead travel via the Royal Australian Air Force’s VIP jet.
In an attempt to limit the carbon footprint of the funeral, state cars and helicopters will also be banned – with plans in place for guests to travel via bus to Westminister Abbey.
Alongside a small number of Australians, the leaders of France, Japan, Turkey, America and New Zealand will also be in attendance.
The British Royal family won’t be the only Royals at the funeral, with members of the royal families of Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands also set to attend.
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