CANBERRA: Britain’s King Charles III faced a vocal protest from native Australian lawmaker Lidia Thorpe during his first royal tour of Australia, marking the first visit by a reigning monarch to the country in more than a decade.
The incident occurred after the king delivered a speech to the Australian Parliament on Monday, advocating for stronger action against climate change.
As King Charles concluded his address, Senator Lidia Thorpe, the first native person to represent Victoria in the Senate, interrupted the proceedings by shouting accusations of historical injustices.
“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back! Give us what you stole from us!” Thorpe yelled. “Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land!”
Thorpe continued, “This is not your land!” before being escorted out by security. Earlier in the event, the senator had turned her back when the British national anthem, God Save the King, was played in anticipation of Charles’s arrival.
Australia’s colonial history began with British settlement in the late 18th century, which led to the mass displacement of native communities, the spread of diseases, and violent frontier massacres.
The country gained independence from Britain in 1901, but remains a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as its head of state.
While Australia voted in a 1999 referendum to retain the monarchy, last year the country rejected proposals to recognize native Australians in the constitution and establish an Indigenous consultative body.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has expressed his preference for Australia to become a republic, ruled out holding a referendum on the matter during the current parliamentary term.
King Charles, who is undertaking his first royal tour since disclosing his cancer diagnosis in February, arrived in Sydney on Friday for a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa alongside Queen Camilla.
In his address to Parliament, Charles highlighted the need for Australia to lead in the global fight against climate change, citing the increased frequency of bushfires and floods as clear evidence of a warming planet.
“Australia has all of the natural ingredients to create a more sustainable, regenerative way of living,” said Charles. “By harnessing the power with which nature has endowed the nation, whether it be wind or its famous sunshine, Australia is tracking the path towards a better and safer future. It’s in all our interests to be good stewards of the world and good ancestors to those who come after us.”
Earlier in the day, the royal couple laid wreaths at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and on Sunday, attended a church service in Sydney following a day of rest.
