High Commission unhappy over Ben Roberts-Smith funeral attendance

Senior officials inside Australia’s High Commission in London are reportedly deeply concerned about the former Afghanistan veteran’s participation at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Ben Roberts-Smith meets the Queen in 2011. Picture: AFP

Senior officials at Australia’s High Commission in London are deeply concerned and unhappy about Ben Roberts-Smith’s invitation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, with sources close to the arrangements saying they did not expect the Victoria Cross recipient to accept the invitation.

Mr Roberts-Smith — who is awaiting the judgement of his high-profile defamation case against the Nine newspapers over allegations he was a war criminal — is travelling to London to join the commemorations alongside three other Australian VC recipients.

The invitations were immediately issued to the four recipients as part of Operation London Bridge, but The Australian understands DFAT officials linked to Australia House are deeply concerned Mr Roberts-Smith will be attending the Queen’s funeral.

Roberts-Smith outside court this year. Picture: David Swift

One source with knowledge of the funeral arrangements told The Australian the High Commission initially thought the 43-year-old would decline the invitation because of his high-profile trial and the impending judgment.

Alongside Mr Roberts-Smith, fellow Afghanistan veterans Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran will attend the funeral, as well as Vietnam veteran Keith Payne.

The Australian understands only Mr Donaldson has been invited to participate in the Order of Chivalry procession and see the late monarch lying-in-state in the Palace of Westminster. 

Mr Payne, who met the Queen on her first tour of Australia in 1954, was awarded his VC by Elizabeth II in 1969 during a ceremony aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Brisbane.

Keith Payne is awarded the Victoria Cross by the Queen in 1969.

After receiving the prestigious medal for valour in Vietnam, Mr Payne and the Queen developed a long association, with the Queen once describing them as “old friends”.

On Tuesday, a member of the war veteran’s legal team told The Australian Mr Roberts-Smith would travel to London to take part in the ceremony.

The four VC recipients have each travelled to London separately on commercial flights.

In a statement Mr Roberts-Smith said he was deeply saddened by Her Majesty’s passing and was honoured he had been invited to pay tribute to her in person.

“I had an immense respect for her and she was someone I admired greatly. 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,” he said.

Mr Roberts-Smith, the country’s most decorated living war veteran, has repeatedly denied all claims he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, including murder and acts of bullying and domestic violence.

A judgment is not expected to be handed down for several months.

Mr Roberts-Smith first met the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2011 for a private audience in which she reportedly asked details about the war in Afghanistan.

“We talked mainly about Afghanistan and obviously it was 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 after the meeting.

The former army corporal received the Commonwealth’s highest honour for valour and bravery following efforts during an operation in Afghanistan in June 2010, when he killed three insurgents who had ambushed his patrol.