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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Harley Dennett

'So very regal': Aunty Val among Aussies invited to Queen's funeral

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

One of the mourners attending Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will be a Canberra local who has admired the monarch since first sight in 1954.

Senior Australian of the Year Val Dempsey will travel to London on a private plane with the Prime Minister and his entourage on Thursday.

The nine other people invited by the Prime Minister are Dylan Alcott, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, Shanna Whan, Professor Helen Milroy, Saba Abraham, Kim Smith, Trudy Lin, Danny Abdallah and Chris Waller.

Australian Victorian Cross Recipients, including former SAS solider Ben Roberts-Smith, have also been invited to attend the funeral.

Ms Dempsey said she saw the "magical" Queen Elizabeth as a child, when the royal visited Canberra for the first time.

"[I] remember as little children being dressed in our finest and grabbing the closest flag that we could, and all of us lining the streets as she came around the city," Ms Dempsey said.

The impression the nurse got then, that the Queen was regal but humble, was only reinforced the many other times Ms Dempsey saw her in person.

"So very regal and yet, so completely one of the people," she said.

Senior Australian of the Year 2020 and Canberran Val Dempsey will attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral service in the UK. Picture by Karleen Minney

Ms Dempsey has volunteered for St John Ambulance for more than 50 years, and led 40 volunteers to support 2020 Black Summer bushfires victims.

Ms Dempsey virtually met the Queen earlier this year.

"She was so engaging, she was witty and humorous and she was right on the ball," she said.

"I thought that was truly an engaged person. And that [meeting] was recorded on the day that she was unable to attend the opening of Parliament in England. And I felt then that she really gave us her all."

Ms Dempsey said the Queen, who worked up until two days before her death, was an inspiration for older Australians.

"She displays to me that 65 is not a use-by date," Ms Dempsey said.

"As a senior person, she has displayed the most incredible endurance and [is] a truly wonderful role model for other people, that it isn't necessarily the age that defines you.

"I believe that Her Majesty ... has set the standard for work ethic, right the way across the whole of her nation and across the world."

Dylan Alcott will be attending the Queen's funeral. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong

Mr Alcott is the 2022 Australian of the Year, a disability advocate and Paralympian.

Horse trainer Mr Waller reportedly knew the Queen well.

Mr Albanese said he had ensured all six states and two territories were represented.

"The Australians who have been invited, I think, embody an extraordinary contribution to our nation," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

Australian Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has been invited to attend the Queen's funeral. Picture by Marina Neill

Other Australians invited, but not through the Australian government, include Returned Services League (RSL) president Greg Melick and Australian Victorian Cross recipients.

This includes Ben Roberts-Smith, Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran.

The Queen had been a patron of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association since 1956, and the RSL for more than 70 years.

The Queen's funeral will be held on September 19 at Westminster Abbey.

This is the same place where she married Prince Philip in 1947 and held her coronation ceremony in 1953.

The Prime Minister is due to fly to London on Thursday and return to Australia the next Wednesday in time for the national memorial service in Canberra.

Australia is also providing travel assistance for several Pacific nation leaders.

Mr Albanese hosted representatives of 24 Commonwealth nations at the Lodge on Tuesday morning to commemorate the Queen's life.

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