King Charles III faced an unexpected protest during his official visit to Australia when Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe interrupted a ceremony in Canberra, shouting, “This is not your land, you are not my King.”
Thorpe, an Aboriginal Australian and vocal advocate for indigenous rights, interrupted the event shortly after the King’s address at Parliament House on the second day of the British monarch’s engagements in the country.
The protest occurred as King Charles and Queen Camilla met with Australia’s leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Thorpe’s outburst, in which she accused the British Crown of “genocide” against Indigenous Australians, lasted for about a minute before she was escorted away by security. She continued to shout, “Give us our land back, give us what you stole,” as she was led out.
Thorpe’s protest drew mixed reactions. Aboriginal elder Aunty Violet Sheridan, who earlier welcomed the King and Queen, condemned the outburst as “disrespectful,” adding, “She does not speak for me.” Despite the disruption, the ceremony concluded as planned, with the royal couple proceeding to meet hundreds of well-wishers waiting outside in the Canberra sun.
Thorpe later told the BBC that she wanted to send a “clear message” to the King, stating, “To be sovereign, you have to be of the land. He is not of this land.” She also called on King Charles to urge Australia’s Parliament to discuss a treaty with the country’s First Nations people, a long-standing demand among many Indigenous communities. “We can lead that, we can do that, we can be a better country,” Thorpe added, “but we cannot bow to the coloniser, whose ancestors he spoke about in there are responsible for mass murder and mass genocide.”
King Charles acknowledged Australia’s First Nations people in his speech, recognizing their long history on the land, which predates British colonization by tens of thousands of years. “Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures,” the King said. “I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, has been a long-time advocate for a treaty between Australia’s government and its First Nations people. Australia is the only former British colony without such a treaty, and many Indigenous Australians argue that they never ceded their sovereignty or land to the Crown. Thorpe was previously elected to Parliament as a member of the Greens but left the party over its support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a constitutional amendment aimed at giving greater political rights to First Nations people, which was rejected in a referendum last year.
Despite Thorpe’s protest, many Australians were excited to see the royal couple. Supporters lined up outside Parliament House, waving Australian flags. Among them, 20-year-old Jamie Karpas said, “I think the Royal Family are part of the Australian culture. They are a big part of our lives.” Others, like US-Australian student CJ Adams, were eager to see the monarch up close. “He’s the head of state of the British empire, right? You’ve got to take the experiences you can get while in Canberra,” Adams said.
Protests also took place outside the Australian War Memorial, where demonstrators, including Thorpe, raised the Aboriginal flag. A 62-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with police directions. Thorpe also drew attention by turning her back during the recital of “God Save the King” and was seen wearing a traditional possum-fur cloak.
The Australian Monarchist League condemned Thorpe’s actions, calling it a “childish demonstration” and demanding her resignation. Meanwhile, the Greens party issued a statement acknowledging the significance of the King’s visit for some but also highlighting the “ongoing colonial trauma” experienced by many First Nations people. Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, called for the King to support “First Nations justice, truth telling, and healing,” adding, “He now needs to be on the right side of history.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit to Australia marked the monarch’s first tour of a Commonwealth realm since ascending the throne. Their schedule included public receptions, tree-planting ceremonies, and a visit to the Botanic Gardens. The royal couple’s next stop will be Sydney, followed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, the King’s first as head of the organization.
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