Royal news live: Australian senator Lidia Thorpe explains furious outburst after King Charles’s speech
The Australian senator speaks out again following confrontation in parliament
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The Indigenous senator who confronted King Charles has spoken out to explain why she shouted at him after his parliamentary adress.
Senator Lidia Thorpe told the monarch “you are not my king” and demanded a treaty between Australia‘s First Nations and its government on Monday.
Ms Thorpe, an Indigenous woman from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to recognise their autonomy and set right historical wrongs.
The independent politician has now said that as current King, Charles should “answer for” the “thousands of massacre sites” in Australia.
She told Sky News hours after her appearance at parliament: “We have our bones and our skulls still in his possession - or in his family’s possession. We want that back.
“We want our land back and we want your King to take some leadership and sit at the table and discuss a treaty with us.”
Charles and Camilla have faced low-key protests during their tour of Australia from supporters of First Nations resistance to colonisation, who have been displaying a banner with the word "decolonise" at a number of events.
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Full report:King Charles heckled by Australian senator shouting ‘you are not my king’
King Charles‘s landmark address to Australia’s Parliament House on Monday was disrupted by a protesting Indigenous senator shouting “you are not my king” and accusing him of “committ[ing] genocide against our people”.
The King and Queen Camilla are on a five-day tour of Australia and Charles addressed the Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday in one of the most important engagements of his first visit to the country as monarch.
As he finished his speech, senator Lidia Thorpe approached the stage and shouted for around 30 seconds, saying “this is not your country”.
Read the full report here:
King Charles heckled by Australian senator shouting ‘you are not my king’
Charles, on a five-day visit to Australia, sees landmark speech to parliament disrupted by Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe
Australian senator’s statement ahead of King’s arrival
In a statement released ahead of King Charles’s arrival on Friday, Lidia Thorpe described the British monarch as “not the legitimate sovereign of these lands” and said the monarchy had “committed a genocide of our people”.
“There’s unfinished business that we need to resolve before this country can become a republic. This must happen through Treaty,” Thorpe said.
“We can move towards a Treaty Republic now. The two processes are not opposed, they’re complimentary.”
Alpaca amongst the crowds welcoming the King
Charles and Camilla were earlier welcomed at Canberra airport with a traditional smoking ceremony where guests wafted burning eucalyptus over themselves, chosen for its health benefits in light of the King’s ongoing cancer treatment.
The royal couple commemorated Australia’s war dead at the national memorial, laying floral tributes as hundreds of well-wishers turned out to see the couple – including an alpaca who sneezed in front of the King.
Watch moment King Charles heckled by Australian senator Lidia Thorpe: ‘You are not my King’
This is the moment senator Lidia Thorpe heckles King Charles during a reception in Australia’s parliament.
The monarch had just finished addressing lawmakers in Canberra on Monday when Ms Thorpe shouted “This is not your land. You are not my King.”
She continued raising her voice in protest, saying “Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us! Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.
“You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty!”
Security stopped Ms Thorpe from getting close and ushered her out of the chamber as the King turned to talk to prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Charles and Camilla visit war memorial
Charles and Camilla have visitied the Australian War Memorial as they continue their second official day of their tour of Australia.
The couple had a moment of reflection at the ‘For our Country’ Memorial to “acknowledge the deep connection that First Nation Australians have with their land and the role they continue to play in defending it”.
They paid their respects hours after they were confronted by an Indigenous Australian senator who accused Charles of being a “genocidalist” and asked for a treaty between Australia‘s First Nations and its government.
Australian PM commends royal’s ‘warm welcome’ after Parliament confrontation
Australia’s prime minister has hailed the “warm welcome” King Charles has received on his visit to Australia, hours after he was confronted in parliament by a senator saying he was “not my King”.
Anthony Albanese shared photos of Charles and Camilla’s visit so far to social media and said: “A warm welcome to King Charles today from school students, members of our Defence Force, and distinguished Australians from across our nation in his first visit as sovereign.”
Mr Albanese has a long-term aim of steering Australia towards a becoming a republic but the plans are on hold after Australians overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to indigenous people in a referendum held last year.
Latest pictures from Australia as royals continue tour
Lidia Thorpe: Who is the Indigenous Australian MP who accused King Charles of genocide on royal tour?
Australian senator Lidia Thorpe has made headlines around the world after denouncing King Charles following his Parliament House reception speech.
Ms Thorpe, an Indigenous woman from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to recognise their autonomy and set right historical wrongs.
Ms Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung mother, grandmother, is a well-known activist for Indigenous causes. Her recent actions, however, have been described as her most high-profile protest to date.
Read our full profile below:
Lidia Thorpe: Who is the Indigenous Australian MP who shouted at King Charles?
‘Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people’, she shouted
Lidia Thorpe says royal family still has Indigenous ‘bones and skulls'
The Indigenous senator who confronted King Charles has spoken out once more to claim that the “bones and skulls” of Aboriginal people are still in possession of the royal family.
She told Sky News hours after her appearance at parliament: “We have our bones and our skulls still in his possession, or in his family’s possession. We want that back.
“We want our land back and we want your King to take some leadership and sit at the table and discuss a treaty with us.”
Senator explains “genocidalist” claims
Lidia Thorpe, the Indigenous Australian senator who confronted the King, has explained why she called him a “genocidalist”.
She told SkyNews: “There’s thousands of massacre sites in this country from invasion and someone needs to answer for it. He is the successor then he needs to answer.”
She went on to say: “We are the real sovereigns in the country. The King is not our sovereign. The King lives in your country [the UK]. He’s from your country he can’t be our King.
“I have the support of Aboriginal people around this country. I have the support from my grandmother, I have the support from elders around the country.”
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