During King Charles’ visit to Australia’s Parliament House on Monday, independent senator and Indigenous rights advocate, Lidia Thorpe, made headlines by accusing the monarch of genocide. Thorpe’s protest occurred during Charles’ 16th official visit to the country, marking his first major international trip since his cancer diagnosis, according to Reuters.
After King Charles delivered a speech acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, Thorpe interrupted, declaring she did not recognize his authority over Australia. “You committed genocide against our people,” she shouted. “Give us our land back. Return what you stole from us—our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. We want a treaty.”
“This is not your land, and you are not my King,” she added, as reported by the BBC. Thorpe, who has long been vocal against the colonization of Australia, tried to approach the king but was blocked by security personnel. She was then escorted out of the chamber, while King Charles appeared unfazed and continued his conversation with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Thorpe’s outburst sharply contrasted with the otherwise warm welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla received from officials and the public. Prime Minister Albanese commended the king for his decades-long commitment to climate action, stating, “The Australia you first knew has grown and evolved in so many ways. Yet, through these decades of change, our bonds of respect and affection have matured and endured.”
Albanese also briefly alluded to the ongoing Republican debate, which he and much of his Labor party support. However, plans for a referendum on transforming Australia into a republic were postponed after the government’s Indigenous advisory body referendum failed earlier this year.
During their visit, King Charles and Queen Camilla also stopped at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where over a thousand supporters gathered to greet them. Among the crowd was a nine-year-old alpaca named Hephner, dressed in a suit and crown. His owner, Robert Fletcher, remarked, “He has many outfits, but this one was saved specifically for today. One king meets another king.”
In a light-hearted moment, King Charles patted Hephner, only to pull back laughing when the alpaca snorted in his face. The royal couple is expected to continue their tour in Sydney on Tuesday, before heading to Samoa for a Commonwealth meeting.
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