“To be part of the 2000 people who actually get to see this, when it hasn’t happened for 70-odd years is probably more of a surprise. Actually, the biggest surprise was that Nick Cave is going to be there too!”
Veteran rocker Nick Cave will also join the group which includes Richard Joyes, who was awarded the Cross of Valour in 2003 for his courageous efforts following the 2002 Bali bombings. Jasmine Coe – a Wiradjuri-British artist and the creator and curator of Coe Gallery, the first and only Aboriginal-owned art gallery in the UK – along with youth advocate Yasmin Poole, COVID nurse Emily Regan and soprano Yvonne Kelly.
A collection of the Australians who will be attending Saturday. From left, Adam Hills, Dr Daniel Nour, Professor Merryn Voysey, Leanne Benjamin, Yvonne Kenny and Corporal Daniel Keirghan.Credit: Domenico Pugliese
Leanne Benjamin, the Rockhampton-born former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, is also coming to terms with her invitation.
Having retired in 2013 at the astonishing age of 49, the acclaimed and award-winning dancer now coaches for The Royal Ballet among other companies. She’s mostly stressing about what to wear.
“I just feel incredibly grateful and lucky to have been embraced by both the UK and Australia,” she says.
“I had the opportunity to dance for the royal family and to have met quite a few members of the royal family, including Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and I performed for the Queen Mother when she turned 101. I even had the opportunity of meeting her backstage.”
But a day or so out from the service she says she’s suffering a problem that women can relate to. What to wear.
“The advice is, I believe, that it needs to fit the ceremony,” Benjamin says. “And I think it should be something below the knee or at knee-length – not a miniskirt. And a lot of my outfits are quite short. And a hat, I think is appropriate.”
Merryn Voysey, a professor at Oxford University who played an instrumental role in the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine trials, said she was “absolutely thrilled” to represent the country.
