Ben Roberts-Smith plans to attend Queen’s funeral

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith plans to travel to London to attend the official commemorations for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Ben Roberts-Smith plans to attend Queen’s funeral. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, who was accused in the federal court of “the most heinous acts of criminality” in Afghanistan plans to travel to London to attend the official commemorations for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As he awaits the outcome of the defamation battle billed as “the trial of the century” against Nine newspapers, Australia’s most venerated living soldier has confirmed he is heading to the United Kingdom.

Mr Roberts-Smith confirmed he was invited to the funeral as a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

“I feel deeply saddened by Her Majesty’s passing, I had an immense respect for her and she was someone I admired greatly,” Mr Roberts-Smith said in a statement to NCA NewsWire on Tuesday.

“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.”

His defamation case wound up in July after more than 100 days of evidence and an estimated combined $25 million in legal fees for both sides.

Nine newspapers is seeking to rely on a defence of truth and allege Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful killings, including the execution of a man at Darwan in southern Afghanistan.

His legal team asserted that Nine’s defence “has more holes than Swiss cheese” and that his former soldiers had been used as “pawns” in murder allegations.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Ben Roberts-Smith plans to travel to London to attend the official commemorations for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

Australian Army Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross for Australia for his efforts during an operation in Afghanistan in June 2010, after storming machine gun nests that pinned down his SAS patrol.

In 2011, Corp Roberts-Smith said that the “lovely” Queen Elizabeth II had shown interest in what happened on the day his patrol was targeted.

“We talked mainly about Afghanistan and obviously a great opportunity for me to tell her about what everyone else in my (patrol) did that day, so I got to explain to her a bit of what everyone did as opposed to just myself,” he told reporters.

“Obviously she speaks to quite a lot of soldiers, so she was interested in Afghanistan and she has a good grasp of what’s happening there. I think that her reaction was, she was just glad that we all came home.

“She is everything that everyone says she is. She’s very, just a lovely lady. It’s very humbling, it’s very surreal, I just found it to be a great opportunity to talk to her about what my mates and what the other lads are doing in Afghanistan, as in the other Australians.”

After meeting the Queen, he said his memories of the battle that resulted in the Victoria Cross were vivid.

“That day for me is as clear as ever,” he said.

“At the time it was just something that needed to be done. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to move forward and neutralise that position and I think the most important thing I took away from it was that that day we took everyone home and we had a win.”

Mr Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross for his efforts during an operation in Afghanistan in June 2010, after storming machine gun nests that pinned down his SAS patrol.

In 2011, Corp Roberts-Smith said that the “lovely” Queen Elizabeth II had shown interest in what happened on the day his patrol was targeted. Picture: Jane Barlow / POOL / AFP

One of Nine’s central allegations is that Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in two executions within minutes during a raid on a Taliban compound on Easter Sunday, 2009.

The newspapers claim Mr Roberts-Smith instructed a junior soldier, known as Person 4, to borrow a rifle suppressor off another SAS soldier to shoot the elderly Afghan in the head inside the compound.

The newspapers, and some SAS witnesses, further claim Mr Roberts-Smith executed the Afghan with a fake leg by dragging him outside Whiskey 108 and machine gunning him with a Minimi weapon.

Afghanistan war veteran Mark Donaldson is expected to represent Australian Victoria Cross and George Cross winners in the procession.

Winners of the Victoria Cross are invited to the funeral commemorations by Buckingham Palace as a matter of protocol.

Originally published as Ben Roberts-Smith plans to attend Queen’s funeral