“You are not my king”: moment when King Charles is heckled by an Australian politician
King Charles was confronted with cries from an independent senator: “You are not my king” just after finishing his speech to the Australian Parliament, on the second official day of his engagements in the country.
Lidia Thorpe interrupted the ceremony in the capital Canberra by shouting for about a minute before being escorted away by security.
The king had just moved away from a lectern to join Queen Camilla seated on the stage when Thorpe began shouting as she advanced from the rear of the assembly.
After claiming the genocide of “our people”, we heard him shout: “This is not your land, you are not my king”.
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The ceremony then ended without any reference to the incident, and the royal couple met the audience waiting outside the building to greet them.
People waving small Australian flags had lined up outside Parliament all morning, under the scorching Canberra sun.
Jamie Karpas, 20, said he didn't realize the royal couple were visiting on Monday, adding: “As someone who saw Harry and Meghan the last time they were here, I'm very excited. I think the royal family is part of Australian culture. They occupy a large part of our lives.
Meanwhile, CJ Adams, an American-Australian student at the Australian National University, said: “He is the head of state of the British Empire, you have to take advantage of the experiences you can have in Canberra.”
A small number of dissidents also gathered on the lawn in front of the Parliament building.
From left, Lily Elias, Jamie Karpas and Eloise Rudge had all queued to see the royal couple.
King Charles and Queen Camilla had landed in Canberra earlier in the day and were greeted by a queue of politicians, schoolchildren and Ngunnawal's eldest child, Aunt Serena Williams, an indigenous peoples representative.
Australia is a Commonwealth country where the King is the head of state.
Thorpe, an independent senator from Victoria and an Aboriginal Australian, has long campaigned for a treaty between the Australian government and its original inhabitants.
Australia is the only former British colony that does not have one, and many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people emphasize that they never ceded their sovereignty or land to the Crown.
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Thorpe interrupted the ceremony before being escorted away by security.
For decades, Australia debated whether to break away from the monarchy and become a republic. In 1999, the issue was put to the public in a referendum – which is the only way to change the country's constitution – and was largely rejected.
Polls suggest support for the movement has grown since then, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who shook the king's hand just before the senator's intervention, is a lifelong Republican.
However, Albanese's government has ruled out holding a second vote on the issue soon, following the failure of the referendum on indigenous recognition last year.
King Charles' visit – during a year in which he is undergoing treatment for cancer – is his first to Australia since he succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Due to his health, the tour is shorter than previous royal visits.
A lighter moment came earlier in the day when the king petted an alpaca that was wearing a small crown, when he stopped to speak to members of the public after a visit to the Canberra war memorial.
