The man who lost his three children in a tragic car accident has been invited to attend the Queen’s funeral.
7News reported that Danny Abdallah is among the 10 Australians invited to the monarch’s send-off next week at Westminster Abbey in London.
The father revealed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the one to extend the invite to him for the royal event.
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He told the outlet: “I was driving out of church, you I know just thinking about the Prime Minister, my phone just rang, he gave me a call and said, ‘you know Danny, I’d love for you to join us at the funeral for the Queen'".
He added that he felt ‘honoured and humbled’.
He continued: “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”
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Danny also shared with The Daily Telegraph: “It's one of those things where you would never expect it in your wildest dreams. This is a part of history, it's one of the biggest shifts of our lifetime.
“As a child you would watch her on TV. Now, I'm going there to pay my respect to a beautiful queen who served her nation.”
Two and a half years ago, Danny lost three of his four children when a drunk and drugged driver collided with them while getting ice cream at Oatlands, in Sydney’s north, according to SBS News.
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Antony Abdallah, 13, and his sisters Angelina, 12, and Sienna, eight, along with their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, were walking along the footpath when the driver, Samuel Davidson, spun out of control and hit them.
Following the incident, Samuel Davidson was sentenced to 28 years in prison; however, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal reduced his sentence to 20 years, with a non-parole period of 15 years last July.
Despite the misfortune, Danny and his wife forgave the driver and even launched a national i4GiveDay celebrating their late children while helping people in a similar situation make amends.
Leila Abdallah, Danny’s wife, told reporters as per SBS News: “We chose to turn our tragedy into a greater goodness. We chose to carry our cross with dignity. We chose forgiveness and love over hatred ... Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself and to others.”
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The mother added: "It starts in your heart, spreads to the family and reaches to the community."
Rachel Lang