Sam Kerr selected as Australian flag-bearer for royal coronation

An Aussie star has cemented her status as one of the nation’s brightest exports with news she’s leading a contingent of prominent Australians.

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 06: Sam Kerr of the Australian Matildas celebrates a goal during the Women's Olympic Football Tournament Play-Off match between the Australian Matildas and Vietnam at McDonald Jones Stadium on March 06, 2020 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

Sam Kerr has cemented her status as one of our nation’s brightest exports, being selected to be the nation’s flag-bearer at the coronation of King Charles III, and leading a contingent of prominent Australians to take part in the historic event.

Kerr is the most prolific goalscorer in the history of international football for the Matildas, and will captain the side at the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.

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She is one of only two players to have been nominated in every edition of the Ballon d’Or Féminin to date, and the only Australian to have been short-listed.

Kerr was named the 2018 Young Australian of the Year, and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia last year for services to football.

Kerr is generally considered the greatest ever Australian footballer. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Kerr will be flag-bearer for the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)

Kerr will join 13 other Australian representatives at the coronation, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to attend alongside the Governor-General and his partner, Jodie Haydon.

Comedian Adam Hills will join Kerr in the delegation, as well as musician Nick Cave and Rhodes Scholar Yasmin Poole.

The Australian delegation will be one of the first groups to enter Westminster Abbey, with over 2,000 invitees anticipated to attend.

Prime Minister Albanese called the event “historic” in his announcement of the delegation.

“I’m honoured to represent Australia at the Coronation of The King and The Queen Consort, a historic occasion,” Albanese said.

“I am proud to join a group of remarkable Australians who will also attend the Coronation, showcasing our truly diverse and dynamic nation.”

Albanese will also meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the course of the trip, and visit shipbuilding yards in the UK where the first British AUKUS submarines will be built.

The coronation of the new King is the first crowning of a new Commonwealth monarch since 1953, attended by Sir Robert Menzies at the time as Australia’s Prime Minister.

The standard bearer for Elizabeth II’s coronation was Sir Thomas White, a Minister in the Menzies and Lyons administrations as well as a decorated RAAF pilot during the World Wars.