Thursday 15 September 2022 05:50 PM The Queen: Anthony Albanese flies to the UK with Waterhouse and Alcott while ... trends now
Dignitaries, VIPs and 10 'everyday' Australians extended an invitation to The Queen's funeral have begun to make their way to the UK, with some offered a seat on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's private jet.
Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott, 31, was seen boarding Mr Albanese's RAAF aircraft on Thursday night bound for London where the funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
The wheelchair tennis champion was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022 for his 'distinguished service to Paralympic sport and as a role model for people with disability, and to the wider community through a range of organisations.'
Horse trainer and close friend of the Her Majesty, Chris Waller, was invited but had to withdraw on Thursday because a close family member contracted Covid-19 requiring him to isolate.
The Hall of Fame trainer is best known for training Australian Thoroughbred racehorse Winx - a four-time Horse of the Year who won 33 consecutive races. Mr Waller is said to have been in contact with the Queen in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon (pictured) board a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft at Sydney Airport on Thursday,
Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott (pictured) was offered a seat on the PM's personal jet
Alcott was seen boarding the RAAF jet on Thursday night bound for London (pictured)
The wheelchair tennis champion is also an Officer of the Order of Australia for his disability advocacy (pictured)
Australian horseracing will be represented with high-profiles champion trainers Gai and Robert Waterhouse attending.
The pair were not among the 10 'everyday Australians' offered invites but were invited by Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker and had a personal relationship with The Queen.
They were also seen at Sydney Airport on Thursday night after being offered seats on Mr Albanese's private jet when they he told him they couldn't find space on a commercial flight.
Ms Waterhouse is one of only three Australian trainers to have looked after the Her Majesty's horses when they raced here.
'She was always very charming, always funny, she sounded more like a teenage girl,' Ms Waterhouse said.
'Always interested in her horses, she was marvelous.'
Yet another Australian who trained horses for the Queen, David Hayes, will attend the funeral after travelling from Hong Kong where he is based.
Champion horse trainer Chris Waller (pictured) has been forced to turn down his invitation to the Queen's funeral after a family member was struck down by Covid
But fellow horse trainer Gai Waterhouse and husband Robbie (pictured) were invited by Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker
Mr and Mrs Waterhouse couldn't find space on a commercial flight and so were offered a seat on Mr Albanese's plane
Gai Waterhouse with her daughter Kate who is not attending and is an author and horseracing commentator (pictured)
Not offered a seat on the PM's plane, however was embattled war hero Ben Roberts-Smith.
The Victoria Cross recipient was spotted at Brisbane International Airport on Thursday boarding a commercial flight to London.
The Afghan and Iraq veteran is suing Nine Entertainment publications The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation over a series of articles that alleged he engaged in unlawful behavior in Afghanistan.
Mr Roberts-Smith, 43, and Afghanistan veterans Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran, and Vietnam veteran Keith Payne were invited separately by the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.
The Queen was patron of the association since it began in 1956, and asked before her death that all living members be invited to her funeral.
The other Australian guests are Senior Australian of the Years Valmai Dempsy and Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, Local Heroes Shanna Whan, Saba Abraham, and Kim Smith, Young Australian of the Year Trudy Lin, Western Australian of the Year Helen Milroy, and i4give founder Danny Abdallah.
Ben Roberts-Smith checked in to his commercial flight to attend The Queen's funeral in London on Monday
Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie (pictured together in April) are both invited to the Queen's funeral
Sexologist Chantelle Otten has jointed her partner Dylan Alcott (pictured together in March) as they jet off the Queen's funeral
Mr Albanese said earlier this week: 'These everyday Australians will travel alongside myself and the Governor-General and will join the Acting High Commissioner Lynn Atwood who is currently located in the United Kingdom.
'We have put together and confirmed all of these people will be able to travel, they will be on the same plane as me that will leave from Sydney on Thursday.'
While most nations can send
