Julie Bishop, Nick Cave and soccer superstar Sam Kerr are among a handful of Australians invited to King Charles III‘s Coronation this weekend.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon will lead the group of Australians attending the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, in London, on Saturday.
Some 2,200 people from around the world are on the guest-list with Australia’s Governor General David Hurley and his wife Linda among those invited.
Millions more people around the globe will tune in to watch King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla be crowned.
Cave, a renowned singer and songwriter, is among the surprise list of guests who have been invited as well as comedian Adam Hills.
Julie Bishop will be among a handful of Australians at King Charles’ coronation
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon will also attend
Kerr was awarded an Order of Australia for her service to football last year and she not only captains the Matildas but excels as a forward for the Chelsea Football Club.
Cave was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts, both nationally and internationally in 2017, and will also be present at the coronation.
Ms Bishop will be joined by 18-year-old Tayla Green-Aldridge who is a graduate of the Prince’s Trust Australia Get Into Maritime course.
King Charles founded the charity in 2013 with Ms Bishop holding the title of chair.
Ms Green-Aldridge, a Wiradjuri and Yuin woman who will fly to the UK with her mother will experience not only her first time out of Australia, but her first time on a plane.
‘I can’t compare going to the Coronation to anything I’ve experienced before,’ she said.
‘Obviously, I think I’ll be nervous, but it will be an honour to just be there in the presence of something that’s been going on for centuries.
‘I am actually going to be part of history. It still feels unreal, like it’s not happening to me.’
Australian comedian and disability rights advocate Adam Hills, has also been invited to attend, as has Leanne Benjamin who starred as a dancer for the Royal Ballet for 21 years.
Jasmine Coe, a Wiradjuri-British artist, will travel to Westminster Abbey and is known for her work as the creator and curator of Coe Gallery – the first and only Aboriginal-owned art gallery in the UK.
Dr Daniel Nour, who founded Street Side Medics, a not-for-profit, GP led mobile medical service for people experiencing homelessness, and youth advocate and Rhodes Scholar Yasmin Poole are also on the list of attendees.
London-based nurse Emily Reegan will also be at the event. She worked for the NHS in the emergency department during the peak of the Covid pandemic.
Soccer superstar Sam Kerr has been invited to King Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey on Saturday
Cave, a renowned singer and songwriter, was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts, both nationally and internationally in 2017, and will also be present at the coronation
Other attendees include Minette Salmon, who is studying a PhD in genomic medicine and statistics at Oxford, and Claire Spencer who is recognised for her contribution to the performing arts.
Professor Merryn Voysey, who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and was named Australian of the Year in the UK in 2022, and distinguished soprano Yvonne Kenny will attend as well.
Corporal Daniel Keighran, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for his efforts in Afghanistan in 2010, and Richard Joyes CV who was given the Cross of Valour in 2003 for rescuing victims of the 2002 Bali bombing have also been invited.
The Coronation will start at 11am in the UK, which is 8pm AEST, on Saturday.
King Charles, 74, automatically took the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year.
He also acts as head of state in 14 realms – including Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Canada and Jamaica.
At Saturday’s coronation, he and Queen Consort Camilla will be officially crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.