Britain’s King Charles III had just concluded a speech at Australia’s Parliament House on Monday when an Indigenous senator loudly protested, declaring, “You are not my king.”
From the back of the room, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe shouted at the royal couple, “Give us our land back, give us what you stole,” as security officers moved to escort her away.
The incident occurred as King Charles and Queen Camilla were visiting the Australian capital, Canberra, to engage with the nation’s leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
In his address, Charles recognized Australia’s First Nations people, acknowledging their millennia-long history on the land prior to British settlement 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,” Charles remarked.
“I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
Earlier, the royal couple was welcomed with a traditional Aboriginal ceremony outside Parliament House, but for many Indigenous Australians, their presence was not celebrated.
The British colonization of Australia resulted in the massacre of Indigenous populations at numerous locations across the nation, continuing until as late as the 1930s. Their descendants still endure racism and systemic discrimination in a society struggling to overcome centuries of inequality.
Thorpe, a Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, has actively advocated for a treaty and consistently expressed strong opposition to the British monarchy.
Australia’s Indigenous population has never surrendered sovereignty and has not entered into a treaty process with the British Crown. Australia remains a Commonwealth nation with the king as its head of state.
At her swearing-in ceremony in 2022, Thorpe referred to the then-head of state as “the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” and was prompted to retake the oath. She complied, raising one fist in the air.
Before her protest, Thorpe had turned her back during the anthem “God Save the King,” as reported by Australian media. Images depicted her wearing a possum-fur coat, facing away from the other participants.
The Greens party described the king’s visit as “a momentous occasion for some” but also a “visual reminder of the ongoing colonial trauma and legacies of British colonialism” for many First Nations people.
In their statement, Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, urged the king to openly support “First Nations justice, truth-telling, and healing.” “He now needs to be on the right side of history,” she added.
The Australian Monarchist League called for Thorpe’s resignation following what they termed a “childish demonstration.”
The king and queen have not made any statements regarding the incident, but when questioned, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Charles for doing a “fantastic job.”
“We should remember in the context of health, that he is out there doing his public service notwithstanding, you know, the health challenges he himself has faced—so I think he’s doing a great job,” Starmer told reporters on Monday.
Charles and Camilla landed in Sydney on Friday, marking the monarch’s first visit to a Commonwealth realm since his ascension to the throne.
This marks the king’s first extensive international tour following his cancer diagnosis earlier this year, with a slightly adjusted schedule based on medical recommendations.