Three months after Shanna Whan made Queen Elizabeth II laugh on a Zoom call, the Local Hero of the Year said she was "privileged" to be one of 10 everyday Australians invited to Her Majesty's funeral.
The north-west New South Wales woman is the founder of the not-for-profit organisation Sober in the Country, which raises awareness about alcohol misuse and social isolation in regional Australia.
Ms Whan said the call came through while she was in a Canberra hotel room earlier this week and that the invitation was an "absolute privilege".
"I was informed I'd been shortlisted to accompany our Prime Minister to the Queen's Funeral," she said.
"[From there] it was another list and you're probably going, and then you're definitely going and where is your passport?'"
She said the last 48 hours had been "utter pandemonium".
"I don't think I've processed the enormity of it," Ms Whan said.
Mutual love of dogs and horses
During the zoom call in June, the Queen and Ms Whan spoke about the work Sober In the Country does and how the organisation strove to change conversations and attitudes about alcohol consumption in rural areas.
"I think that's marvellous," Her Majesty said of the charity.
She also inquired how organisation carried out its work with the challenges of the pandemic.
"Australia being so big, it's very easy to become isolated isn't it?" the Queen said.
"When people are in isolation, the barriers to getting help and support are amplified and exacerbated," Ms Whan responded.
The Queen laughed as Ms Whan divulged the pair shared a love for dogs and horses.
She said it was "very interesting to hear" Ms Whan's story and where she came from.
The journey of a lifetime
Earlier in the week Ms Whan travelled from her Maules Creek home to Canberra, where she was the keynote speaker at a number of events.
She said she was not prepared to fly to London.
"I didn't pack for a royal funeral, so there's been some last minute panic-shopping to ensure I'm looking excellent to represent the north-west on international TV.
"I really actually had to think about it because I can get pretty horrendous anxiety in those situations."
Ms Whan said promoting Sober in the Country was one of the reasons she accepted the invitation.
"[Attending the funeral] is obviously profoundly, number one, an opportunity to be part of one of the most significant events in the history of the world," she said.
"It's a bloody good opportunity for me to further the thing that drives me to get out of bed every day.
"It's going to probably get a little bit harder every day for the people who have systematically ignored me in leadership in Australia."
