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Forming a dramatic confrontation during King Charles III's first royal tour as monarch, Indigenous Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe disrupted proceedings at Parliament House in Canberra on October 21, 2024, highlighting long-standing tensions over colonial history and Indigenous rights.
The incident occurred moments after Charles delivered his parliamentary address, where he had acknowledged Indigenous peoples and their 65,000-year connection to the land. Senator Thorpe, known for her advocacy for Indigenous rights, shouted, "You are not my King, this is not your land," before being escorted from the Great Hall.
The protest encompassed demands for the return of Indigenous artifacts and remains, with Thorpe calling for accountability over historical injustices. "Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people," she declared, emphasizing the absence of a treaty between British colonizers and Australia's First Nations peoples.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, while maintaining diplomatic courtesy, subtly addressed the constitutional debate in his welcome speech. "You have shown great respect for Australians, even during times when we have debated the future of our own constitutional arrangements," the man described. Recent polling published in The Sydney Sunday Telegraph indicates declining support for a republic, with only 33% favoring change compared to 39.4% during the 1999 referendum.
The royal visit, which began on October 18, has seen mixed reactions across Australia. While thousands gathered to welcome the King and Queen Camilla, all six state governments notably declined invitations to the parliamentary reception, signaling growing republican sentiment among state leadership.
Earlier that morning, Charles and Camilla had participated in a traditional Welcome to Country ceremony and visited the Australian War Memorial, where an estimated 4,000 people gathered. The King, currently undergoing cancer treatment, maintained a modified schedule that balanced public engagements with health considerations.
Buckingham Palace remained measured in response to the protest, with a palace source emphasizing the "warmth and scale of the reception" from thousands of supporters. The Palace's earlier correspondence with the Australian Republic Movement reaffirmed that Australia's constitutional future "is a matter for the Australian public to decide."
The visit continues with Charles scheduled to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa on Wednesday, marking a crucial period in Australia-British relations as conversations about constitutional monarchy persist in the Pacific nation.
This event underscores the complex relationship between the British monarchy and its former colonies, particularly regarding Indigenous rights and reconciliation efforts in contemporary Australia.
