On Monday, King Charles visited the Australian Parliament to give a speech and meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other leaders. However, an Australian senator, Lidia Thorpe, criticized him during the visit, saying, "You are not my King, you are not sovereign… you have committed genocide against our people."
Charles gave a speech at Australia's Parliament House in Canberra, where he was seen with Queen Camilla. Just before he finished, Senator Thorpe interrupted, accusing him of committing "genocide" against the indigenous people of Australia. Security guards escorted the royal couple as Thorpe shouted from the back of the room, demanding, "Give us our land back, give us what you stole. Our babies, our people. You destroyed our land." She called for a treaty between the government and Australia's First Nations.
Thorpe, who is from the DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara communities, has been a strong critic of the British monarchy and a long-time advocate for a treaty. During their visit to Australia, Charles and Camilla faced peaceful protests from supporters of First Nations rights, with banners reading "decolonize" at some events.
King Charles addresses Australian Parliament
During his speech, King Charles addressed Australia’s First Nations people. He said, "Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have honored me by sharing their stories and cultures so generously."
He added, "I can only express how much their traditional wisdom has shaped and strengthened my own experiences."
Earlier in the day, the royal couple was welcomed with a grand traditional Aboriginal ceremony outside Parliament House.
After British settlers arrived in Australia, Indigenous people were massacred at many sites, and this continued until the 1930s. Their descendants still face prejudice and discrimination today, struggling with generations of disadvantage.
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