King Charles III’s state visit to Australia quickly turned controversial when independent senator Lidia Thorpe heckled a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra, shouting, “This is not your land, you are not my King.” She made the outburst just after the King finished his speech and could be seen rejoining Queen Camilla on stage. She was dragged off by security following the shout for about a minute where she made claims about the treatment of Aboriginal peoples.
The royal couple had barely been welcomed into Parliament through the traditional Indigenous ceremonies, which included a didgeridoo performance, when the King went public with his admiration for Indigenous communities and made mention of how his experiences had shaped his understanding of reconciliation. But Thorpe’s protest drew attention to tensions continuing to surround Australia’s colonial past, and indeed to the need for a treaty with Indigenous peoples-a matter on which Thorpe has campaigned for years.
The ceremony was held as scheduled with no reference to Thorpe’s comments, and the King and Queen stepped outside Parliament to mix with members of the public, who also waved Australian flags and spoke warmly about the royal visit. As 20-year-old Jamie Karpas for instance told the Sydney Morning Herald: “The monarchy has been part of Australian culture. Some, like US-Australian student CJ Adams, said they recognized the complexities surrounding the monarchy as a colonial legacy:.
In fact, Thorpe later stated she wanted to deliver a “clear message” to the King, who was “not of this land.” The answer should be that he must instruct the Australian Parliament to debate, discuss, and concur with a peace treaty to indigenous communities. She called out the monarchy for their participation in colonialism in the past and declared that reconciliation and justice should be given to Aboriginal Australians.
The palace has made no public comment on the protest, but claims that the crowds of people turned out to see the King and Queen in Canberra were overwhelmingly welcoming. The royal visit comes at a time when there is much debate over Australia’s relationship to the monarchy, with long-time republican Prime Minister Anthony Albanese having ruled out any short-term plans to hold another referendum on the issue, but with polling suggesting support for a republic is continuing to grow.
It will be the first time Charles has visited Australia as the monarch, and it is to be a much shorter visit than any his predecessors have made on a royal tour as he undergoes treatment for cancer. One bright spot of the day was when the King played with an alpaca wearing a tiny crown as he stopped off at a public greeting after a tour of Canberra’s war memorial.
