Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe stirred controversy after heckling during a royal event in Canberra, declaring, “You are not my king” and “This is not your land.” 

While some activists praised her actions as brave, others in the Indigenous community called them embarrassing and not respectful.

The Backlash Over a Violent Image

The controversy escalated. Thorpe’s brief Instagram post of a cartoon showing King Charles being beheaded has been widely condemned. The senator said that an overzealous staff member inadvertently shared the image. “I deleted it immediately upon seeing it. I would never intentionally share any material that could be interpreted as promoting violence against anyone,” she said.

Indigenous Leaders Spoke

Some of the most prominent Aboriginal leaders speak out against Thorpe’s actions. “Lidia Thorpe doesn’t speak for me and my people,” said Aunty Violet Sheridan, the elder who welcomed the King and Queen Camilla to Ngunnawal country in disappointment. “It’s embarrassing and disappointing,” said the former senator and the first Aboriginal woman elected to parliament, Nova Peris, about Thorpe’s behaviour. Peris noted a commitment to reconciliation requires “respectful dialogue.”

Backing from Aboriginal Activists

Some of the Aboriginal activists, however, welcomed Thorpe’s courage. “When Thorpe speaks, she’s got the ancestors right with her,” said Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a Bundjalung lawyer. Given its historical context, inviting the monarchy to Australia is much more disrespectful. She was proven right through the deep-rooted significance of Thorpe’s protest.

A Message for the Monarchy

After the protest, Thorpe asserted that she wanted to “send a strong message” to King Charles about what she had said was the situation of Indigenous Australians. She was super critical of the monarchy for its historical roles in colonial violence and told BBC, “Why doesn’t he say, ‘I am sorry for the many, many thousands of massacres that happened in this country and that my ancestors and my kingdom are responsible for that?'”

Many Australian politicians severely criticized Thorpe’s acts. Even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was critical of her and stated, “She does not meet the standard behaviour Australians rightly expect of parliamentarians.” Opposition leader Peter Dutton asked her to leave. She refused and said, “I don’t care what Dutton says. I’ll be here for three years, so Albaneseget used to truth-telling.”

International Perspective

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also rushed to defend the king, calling him an “incredible ambassador for the Commonwealth” and describing Thorpe’s heckling as “quite disgraceful.”

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