Leila and Danny Abdallah were among a select group of Australians to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla during the Royal visit to Canberra and Parramatta Park this week.
The Maronite couple, who lost three of their children to a reckless driver in Oatlands in 2020, used the opportunity to tell the Royals about their i4give Foundation, an initiative that encourages people to reach out and forgive one other, just as they forgave the driver of the car who ran down Antony, Angelina, Sienna and their niece Veronique Sakr.
Of the 300 people who attended the ceremony at Parliament House on Monday 21 October, only around 20 were selected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to actually meet and greet the King and Queen.
“Glory be to God, we felt honoured and humbled to have been chosen, it was very special,” said Leila.
“The moment when he (the King) walks up to you feels so surreal that it’s a blur. You’ve seen him so many times on the TV and then suddenly, he’s standing right in front of you.
“He seems such a gentle soul. He had a beautiful aura about him and was very down to earth.
“You only have about 30 seconds with them, and it all happens so quickly and you’re trying to absorb every second.
Danny and Leila had their youngest child with them at the ceremony, six-month-old Mary. Leila says the baby proved a hit with Queen Camilla who asked if it was their only child.
“I told her, no. We have eight children, with three of them up in heaven.”
On the drive down to Canberra from their home in Sydney, Danny brushed up on Royal protocol by watching YouTube videos and discovered that the King was to be addressed as “Your Majesty.”
However, Danny got the jitters when the King approached him, and he forgot what to say.
“He walked up to me, and I got all nervous and said, ‘Hi your Honor’” says Danny. “Then I corrected myself and the King smiled.”
The following day, 22 October, the couple met the Royals again at a BBQ in Parramatta Park, where NSW Premier Chris Minns introduced them.
This time they brought along all their children; baby Mary, Selina (two-and-a-half), Michael (eight), Alex (10) and Liana (15).
“The King looked at me as if he knew me,” said Danny.
“I told him I was one of 10 Australians invited to pray with him at his mother’s funeral in London. And I reminded him that I had met him the day before at Parliament House.”
“The King replied, ‘Oh, you’re that forgiveness guy!’”
“I thought it was nice that he remembered me for my forgiveness.”
Leila says their toddler Selina almost stole the show from the King and Queen, racing around, keeping everyone busy and raising a cheer from the crowd.
“I was running trying to catch her and the King’s security thought I was running at the King,” Leila laughs. “It was a bit embarrassing.”
As for Danny, he’s now a self-confirmed monarchist.
“I love the reverence around the Royals,” he says. “I think humans are called to be reverent.
“I look at the way England conducts itself under a monarchy, versus America under a republic. America is chaos…it’s like a circus, there’s no reverence in the community at all.”