King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s lackluster tour of Australia finally made global headlines Monday when they were heckled by an angry Indigenous senator who interrupted a signature event and yelled at the royal couple for over a minute, accusing the crown of having “committed genocide against our people.”
Charles and Camilla looked stunned and confused as Lidia Thorpe, a veteran independent senator from the state of Victoria, wearing a traditional possum skin coat, burst out of a crowd of lawmakers in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
Charles had just concluded a speech in which he had happily reminisced on previous visits to Australia and highlighted Australia’s vulnerability to climate change when Thorpe, a celebrated activist for Indigenous rights, approached the stage, yelling, “This is not your country, you are not our king.”
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In the astonishing tirade, which only ended when Thorpe was pushed out of the hall in which the gathering was taking place, Thorpe called for a treaty and accused the crown of stealing from Indigenous people.
“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” shouted Thorpe.
She continued heckling the couple as she was forced out of the hall, saying: “You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty in this country. You are a genocidalist. This is not your land. You are not my king. You are not our king.”
Thorpe, who had earlier turned her back on video screens showing the king, was then heard shouting“F—k the colony,” as she was pushed out of the room.
She later shared a cartoon showing King Charles beheaded on her Instagram Story.
After the protest, Charles and Camilla left the hall and met with well-wishers who had gathered to greet them.
An official palace source declined to comment on the protester, but said: “Their Majesties are deeply grateful to the very many thousands who turned out to support them, and are only sorry they didn’t have a chance to stop and talk to every single one. The warmth and scale of the reception was truly awesome.”
Many Indigenous people argue that Australia was invaded by the crown, which should formally make a belated peace treaty with First Nations people.
Thorpe said in a statement after her protest: “As First Peoples, we never ceded our sovereignty over this land. The crown invaded this country, has not sought treaty with First Peoples, and committed a genocide of our people. King Charles is not the legitimate sovereign of these lands. Any move towards a republic must not continue this injustice. Treaty must play a central role in establishing an independent nation.”
The king is likely to face more anger over colonial-era wrongs with when he travels to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa later this week.
The Commonwealth is an informal club of some 56 nations broadly linked through colonial-era ties.
Some 15 Caribbean governments have said they want to discuss reparations as part of a “global reset.”
Charles’ health is under scrutiny this week, as the king has cancer, treatment for which has been “paused” for the tour. On Sunday he left a lunch at which he was the guest of honor after just ten minutes.
Graham Smith, the leader of the British anti-monarchy group Republic, who is in Australia for the tour, said he welcomed Thorpe’s protest, telling The Daily Beast: “Royals should be met by protest, and it’s understandable that Australians might object to the monarchy’s legacy of empire and the appalling atrocities inflicted on the Indigenous people.”
