The late Queen Elizabeth II touched the heart of all those she met.
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Three athletes who were lucky enough to be one of those people were former Wallabies Simon Poidevin and David Campese and former Hockeyroo Kellie Miller.
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Campese said he felt very fortunate to meet the queen multiple times.
"When the Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall was opened in 1988, Prince Phillip was there with her," Campese said.
"I was on someone's shoulders at the time."
"In 1984, I saw her when the Wallabies were at Buckingham Palace and I spoke to her about horses because that's what she was into.
"In the 1991 Rugby World Cup, she came out to the oval before the game and shook our hands as well."
Campese remembered her as a very polite and humble person.
Also there in 1984 and 1991 was Poidevin who described the queen as "very inquisitive" and "one of the best human beings the world had ever seen".
"She was so engaging and relaxing," he said.
"She spent an hour or so with the team and I regard that as one of the great privileges in my life.
"She's made an extraordinary contribution to the world."
He remembered asking her if there were any rugby players within her family and she told him her boys had a chance to play it during their schooling years.
Miller's encounter with the queen came during the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in what she described as a very special moment.
"She was out to support the England Hockey team and the Hockeyroos were very lucky to be able to meet her," she said.
"She spoke extremely well, asked us about our matches and had a joke with us too.
"She acted like she was one of us and was interested in knowing how we were going."
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