By Lucy Adautin
King Charles, the British monarch, embarked on his 16th official visit to Australia, marking his first significant foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer.
An independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe accused King Charles of genocide during his visit to Australia’s Parliament House on Monday,
Moments after he delivered a speech acknowledging “the traditional owners of the lands,” Thorpe interrupted, rejecting his sovereignty over Australia.
“You committed genocide against our people,” Thorpe shouted. “Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us—our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. We want a treaty”.
As security stopped Thorpe from approaching the monarch, she continued, “This is not your land, you are not my King,” as quoted by BBC.
She was then escorted out of the chamber, while King Charles remained composed, quietly conversing with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the podium.
The protest stood in stark contrast to the warm welcome Charles and Queen Camilla received from dignitaries and the public. Albanese praised the king for his long-standing advocacy on climate change, saying, “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 briefly mentioned the Republican cause, supported by him and much of his center-left Labor party, though a referendum on Australia becoming a republic was postponed after the failure of a government-backed referendum on an Indigenous advisory body earlier this year.
The royal couple also visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where over a thousand well-wishers gathered.
Among them was Hephner, a nine-year-old alpaca dressed in a suit and crown. His owner, Robert Fletcher, shared, “He has many outfits, and this one was saved specifically for today. One king meets another king.”
King Charles stopped to pat Hephner, only to pull back with a laugh after the alpaca snorted in his face.
Their tour continues in Sydney on Tuesday before heading to Samoa for a Commonwealth meeting.
