Who Is Lidia Thorpe? Meet The Indigenous Australian Senator Who Heckled King Charles

Indigenous Australian senator Lidia Thorpe made headlines on Monday after heckling King Charles shortly after his address to the Australian Parliament House in Canberra.

Thorpe, an independent senator, shouted anti-colonial slogans at King Charles, shocking the lawmakers and other dignitaries present in Parliament. As security guards escorted her out of the chamber, she continued to voice her protests.

“Give us our land back! Give us what you stole from us!” she screamed during an almost minute-long diatribe as she was ushered from the hall.

“This is not your land; you are not my king,” she added, denouncing what she described as a “genocide” of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.

Who is Lidia Thorpe?

51-year-old Lidia Thorpe hails from a prominent family of Aboriginal community organisers and activists. She identifies as a Gunnai, Gunditjmara, and Djab Wurrung Indigenous woman, as per The Guardian report.

Known for her attention-grabbing political stunts and fierce opposition to the monarchy, Thorpe was sworn into office in 2022. During her oath, she had raised her right fist while reluctantly pledging to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Australia’s head of state.

“I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” she had stated, prompting a rebuke from a Senate official.

“Senator Thorpe, Senator Thorpe, you are required to recite the oath as printed on the card,” said chamber president Sue Lines.

Thorpe, a strong advocate for Indigenous rights in Australia, regularly voices her protests at events and in the Senate. She was formerly a senator for the progressive Greens Party but left the party last year due to their backing of an Indigenous advisory group to Parliament, which she opposed.

Why is King Charles in Australia?

King Charles, 75, is currently on a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa, marking his first major foreign trip since his life-changing cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

This visit is Charles’ 17th trip to Australia and his first since becoming king in 2022. It also marks the first visit to Australia by a reigning British monarch since his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, travelled there in 2011.

Australia was a British colony for over a century, during which thousands of Aboriginal Australians were killed and entire communities displaced. Although the country gained de facto independence in 1901, it has never become a fully-fledged republic, with King Charles currently serving as its head of state.

(With inputs from agencies)