When 30-year-old military veteran Cath Harvey told her therapist that instead of going to the PTSD session she would rather go to the King, the psychologist agreed that this could be good therapy.
So with her medals on her chest from the two tours in Afghanistan that saw her medically retire from the Royal Australia Navy, the 59-year-old left early with her neighbor for support.
Waiting for hours in the sun at the Sydney Opera House, Cath used her naval training to tactically pinpoint the Man O’ War steps as the best position to score a royal handshake.
And around 4.45pm Cath hit the jackpot when she was picked out in the crowd by Queen Camilla, and then again by King Charles.
Bubbling with excitement after both encounters – a virtually unheard of quinella for a member of the crowd during a royal walk – Cath revealed what Camilla and Charles had each said to her.
‘When Camilla came up I couldn’t believe it, but I said to her, ‘I want to thank you for all you have done to look after us and for your service to my king,’ and she looked a little shocked .
“But she shook my hand and said, ‘That’s very nice of you to say, thank you very much.’
“She has very soft hands.”
When 30-year-old military veteran Cath Harvey stopped her PTSD therapy session to see the king, never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would meet both royals.
Queen Camilla and King Charles are seen descending the steps of the Sydney Opera House
Charles sees Cath’s medals and the two talk about the Navy
After greeting the Queen, the royal couple turned and stood for a moment while primary school children performed a dance in their uniforms.
Cath said that towards the end of the dance she saw the king spying on her medals, after which he came up to her and asked her: “Are those your medals?”
‘I said yes and as he shook my hand I said, ‘I’ve just retired after thirty years’ service to the Queen and then to the King and country,’ and he said, ‘In the Navy?’ and I said yes.
“He’s a Navy man and he looked up with a smile of recognition.
“At that point the security guy almost had to break my thumb to keep me from shaking Charles’ hand.”
After Cath’s double royal flush, she pointed out to the crowd things that only a Navy veteran and former chief petty officer could do as the royals moved from the Opera House to Sydney Harbor for the naval review.
The HMAS Arunta waited for Charles and Camilla to pass by on a smaller boat, the Admiral Hudson, and on the upper deck of the Arunta, sailors were ready to do a ‘hats off and hurray to King’.
Cath thanked the Queen for all her support and services to King Charles over the years, and received a warm response from Camilla
Cath Harvey, a 30-year-old Navy veteran, shows the medals she wore that attracted the royal couple
Cath also explained that the helicopter flying above us with a huge Australian flag behind it was a Navy helicopter, and the crowds cheered at every flyover.
Cath Harvey told Daily Mail Australia she retired from the Navy in February after 30 years of service and that her medical retirement due to PTSD was brought on by the stress of two tours, between 2015 and 2016.
It’s just a constant, constant adrenaline because you’re always alert and then there are the incidents.’
Based in Kabul, Cath earned one of the medals that caught the attention of King Charles of the U.S. Army, honoring her for her guidance of U.S. Navy sailors during her second tour of Afghanistan.”
The other medals are her Australian Operations Medal for two tours, her Long Service Medal, Australian Defense Medal and NATO Medal.
Since medically retiring from military service, Cath recently had her medals tattooed on her leg, along with the dates of her naval career
Cath was affectionately known as ‘Chief Harvey’ by the naval personnel who worked with her in Afghanistan and Australia during her long career in the Royal Australian Navy
Cath has been treasurer and now vice-president of her local RSL Club in Branxton in the NSW Hunter Valley, and works in her region helping the elderly, running a women’s shed, making ‘Boomerang Bags’ for shoppers and bed covers making for Aussie Hero Quilts .
The neighbor who accompanied Cath in support of the royal trip, Virginia Upward, says she is widely loved and admired, and has used her own trauma and experiences to help others.
Speaking about her speedy performances on the final day of Charles and Camilla’s public walks in Australia, Cath said: ‘It’s very difficult to get out of the defense force. Maybe I feel like a chapter has been closed.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled.”