After King Charles III finished addressing Australia’s Parliament, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe interrupted, shouting, “You are not my king” and “Give us our land back, give us what you stole, our bones, our skulls, our babies.”Then, “F…the Colony” before security escorted her out.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were in Canberra meeting with leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. During his speech, the King recognized Australia’s First Nations people, who have lived on the land for many thousands of years before British colonization over 230 years ago.
“Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures,” King Charles said. “I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
Earlier, a traditional Aboriginal ceremony welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla outside Parliament House, but many Indigenous Australians view the royal couple as unwelcome. Inside, they were greeted with the sounds of a didgeridoo before the disruption in Parliament.
The arrival of British settlers in Australia resulted in the massacre of Indigenous people at hundreds of sites, continuing until the 1930s. Their descendants still face racism and systemic discrimination, with efforts to address centuries of inequality falling short.
Lidia Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, has long advocated for a treaty and strongly opposes the British monarchy. Australia’s Indigenous people never ceded sovereignty and have not entered into a treaty with the British Crown. Australia remains part of the Commonwealth, with the King as its Head of State according to CNN.
On Monday, protesters held an Aboriginal flag as the royal couple visited the Australian War Memorial. A 62-year-old man was arrested for ignoring police orders.
Before interrupting the King in Parliament, Lidia Thorpe turned her back during the singing of “God Save the King.” Photos showed her wearing a possum-fur coat, facing away from the other attendees.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Sydney on Friday as part of the King’s first tour of a Commonwealth realm since taking the throne. This is his first major overseas trip since being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, with a lighter schedule recommended by doctors. The visit marked the fourth day of their tour in Australia. The couple also visited the Australian War Memorial and met an alpaca wearing a crown, with Charles pausing to tickle its nose while greeting the crowd.
