An Indigenous politician verbally attacked King Charles and Camilla as they entered the Australian Parliament, accusing the royals of “genocide”.
Lydia Thorpe, an independent Aboriginal Australian senator from Victoria, approached Charles and Camilla after they took to the stage in front of politicians and representatives. She approached the stage dressed in Indigenous costume and holding a paper, as speechless MPs and guests stood nearby and shouted, “You are not my king”.
As royal protection officers attempted to escort them from the building, Ms Thorpe shouted at the King and Queen: “Give us back our land, give us back what you have stolen from us.” Our bones, our skulls, our babies, and our people.
“You destroyed our country, give us a treaty, we want a treaty for this country, you are a genocide. “This is not your country, this is not your country, you are not my king, you are not our king.” As she was led away, voices could be heard screaming, “Not my king” and “Fuck the colony.”
The King and Queen did not react to the scene, instead turning to the people beside them as the orchestra played music. She was escorted from the room about 30 seconds later by security, including the King’s Guard.
In 2022, a month before the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Ms Thorpe called her a “colonizer” during her oath of office in Parliament. Ms Thorpe, who left the Greens to become an independent last year, was forced to repeat her oath of allegiance to the Australian parliament as colleagues chanted, “You’re not a senator if you don’t get it right.” She later called the ceremony “outdated and ridiculous” because the party had not paid enough attention to Indigenous rights.
After the unrest in the hall, the planned royal tour outside Parliament lasted only a few minutes. Dozens of people who had been waiting since 8am under the scorching Canberra sun to catch a glimpse of the king and queen were devastated after the royals took less than 10 minutes to address the crowd.
But a Buckingham Palace spokesman denied that the ceremony had been called off because of disturbances inside, saying it had gone ahead 15 minutes later than planned.
They added: “After encountering a similarly large crowd at the War Memorial, the programme was not shortened but rather lengthened by 15 minutes. Unfortunately, despite Their Majesties’ best efforts, not everyone will be able to greet them in person.
The King and Queen are of course very grateful for all the support. There were many moving individual stories of people who made such an effort to be there. The scale and warmth of the receptions, attended by several thousand people at both venues, better expressed the mood of the day than a single loud demonstrator.”
The king had earlier become the first British monarch to take part in an Aboriginal “smudging ceremony” and was welcomed to Canberra. Prince Charles had planned to put Australia’s Indigenous communities at the centre of his first royal tour since his cancer diagnosis.
The ceremony is a welcoming and protective ritual that helps ward off evil spirits, spiritually purify people and recognise ancestors and land. The late Queen Elizabeth witnessed the ceremony during a visit to Australia, but King Charles is thought to be the first monarch to actively participate. The monarch is due to visit the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Sydney tomorrow. The Royal Family also honoured two Australian First World War veterans from different walks of life during a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
After laying flowers in honour of Australian Defence Force soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice, Charles and Camilla walked the short distance to the memorial’s Order of Honour. A tradition has developed among families to place poppies next to the names of their fallen relatives listed on the long walls of the memorial’s gallery.
The King stepped forward to place a poppy next to the name of Private William Punch, an Australian Aboriginal who did manual labour on the front and was killed by gunfire in 1917. The Queen, however, left flowers next to the name of Private William James Johnson, former Mayor of Auburn. He was 44 when he was conscripted and shot dead at the Battle of Pozières.
At the memorial, Prince Charles laid a wreath at the foot of the Tomb of the Australian Unknown Soldier, next to a bouquet laid by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. As a horn player played the tattoo, the royals bowed their heads and watched as a moment of silence was broken by the sound of a wake-up call.
Since the memorial was built in 1941, every royal visit to Australia has included an official wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial, which commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australian Defence Force veterans. In a separate ceremony, the King and Queen also commemorated the sacrifice of Indigenous veterans for the first time at the newly built “For Our Country” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Memorial.
After leaving the Hall, the King and Queen went into the Memorial Courtyard to sign the Guest Book. Australia’s most visited cultural site, the memorial attracts millions of visitors each year to honour the achievements of the armed forces.
As Charles and Camilla were being greeted by hundreds of people outside, the King was “stunned” when an alpaca wearing a crown, suit and gold bow tie sneezed as he went to greet them.
Nine-year-old Hefner made a spectacular blunder when he was presented to the King at the Australian War Memorial. When the King stroked his nose, the animal sneezed loudly, eliciting laughter.
Thousands of people came to greet the King and Queen, and fans waved flags and banners. Among the crowd was Robert Fletcher, who led his alpaca (named Hefner because his mother was known as a Playgirl) on a leash to the King. For the occasion, he wore a suit with a gold crown and a gold bow tie.
Robert, who lives in Goulburn, New South Wales, uses alpacas as pets in charities and care homes. While waiting for Charles, he said, “My wife found the crown and thought it was perfect. I think he loves his crown very much. He wears a lot of outfits, but because it’s a special day, he’s also wearing a suit and bow tie. Hefner has met some famous people, but this man is a king. He wants to meet the king.”
“He doesn’t bite, he doesn’t spit, he always behaves in an exemplary manner anyway, and he’s a royally friendly alpaca.”
As Charles approached, Robert shook hands with the animal and introduced it to the king. But when the king gave it a gentle stroke, the alpaca sneezed loudly within seconds. Robert later said, “I shook his hand and Mr. Hefner sneezed.” The King looked in disbelief. But that’s the Hefner way. After all, he is an alpaca.”
The royal couple were greeted with thunderous applause as they walked the 200 metres by Australian War Memorials Council member and Australian Army veteran “Auntie” Lorraine Hutton.