On the second official day of his engagements in Australia, King Charles encountered protests as an independent senator shouted “you are not my King” after he delivered a speech at Parliament House in Canberra.
Lidia Thorpe, an outspoken senator, interrupted the proceedings by shouting for approximately a minute before being escorted out by security personnel. Her outburst occurred just as King Charles left the podium to join Queen Camilla on stage.
Thorpe, walking forward from the back of the room, accused the monarchy of genocide against Indigenous Australians. Her protest included the declaration, “This is not your land, you are not my King.”
Despite the disruption, the ceremony continued without addressing the incident, and the royal couple proceeded to greet the public waiting outside Parliament House.
The BBC reported that crowds had gathered since early morning, braving the intense Canberra sun while waving Australian flags. Jamie Karpas, a 20-year-old who had not initially known the royals were visiting, expressed his excitement. “I saw Harry and Meghan the last time they were here, and it’s great to see the Royal Family again. They’re part of our culture and lives,” he said.
Another attendee, CJ Adams, a US-Australian student at the Australian National University, remarked on the significance of the visit. “He’s the head of state of the British empire – it’s an experience worth having while you’re in Canberra,” Adams noted.
While many were enthusiastic, a smaller group of protesters gathered outside Parliament House in opposition to the monarchy’s continued role in Australia.
Earlier in the day, King Charles and Queen Camilla were welcomed to Canberra by a reception line that included politicians, schoolchildren, and Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Serena Williams, representing Indigenous Australians.
As a member of the Commonwealth, Australia recognizes the King as its head of state. Thorpe, a senator from Victoria and an Aboriginal woman, has been a longstanding advocate for a formal treaty between the government and Indigenous peoples. Australia remains the only former British colony that has not established such an agreement, and many Indigenous groups assert that their sovereignty was never ceded to the British Crown.
Debates about Australia’s status as a monarchy have persisted for years, and a 1999 referendum on becoming a republic ended in a decisive rejection. Since then, support for republicanism has grown, although Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a known supporter of the movement, has not committed to another vote in the near future, particularly following the failed referendum on Indigenous recognition last year.
This visit marks King Charles’s first to Australia since ascending the throne after Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. Due to his ongoing treatment for cancer, the tour was shorter than previous royal engagements.
