"F*** the colony!"

Angry indigenous senator attacks Charles

Charles is attacked by senator in Australia

(Bild: KameraOne)

There was a scandal in the Australian parliament at the end of King Charles III's speech. Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe, who had already turned around demonstratively and turned her back on the House at the sound of the United Kingdom's national anthem - "God Save the King" - clearly vented her anger at the regent.

 "You are not my king, you are not our king!" the politician shouted loudly into the chamber. "F*** the colony!"

Demanding the return of land
Before she was taken away by security guards, she demanded: "Give us back our land, give us back what you have stolen from our people!" Charles is also the head of state of Australia and is visiting the Commonwealth country for the 17th time - but for the first time as king. It is the first time ever that a British monarch has paid a visit to the country. Before Charles, only his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, had been there as reigning Queen.

He and Queen Camilla arrived in Australia on Friday, but the official program only began on Sunday with a church service in Sydney - on the fringes of which there were already minor protests against the monarchy, which have now continued in the capital Canberra. Apart from fundamental reservations about the king continuing to act as the head of state of a parliamentary democracy on the other side of the world, representatives of indigenous Australians are demanding reparations for the expulsion of the Aborigines when the country was a British colony.

Senator Lidia Thorpe is visibly angry.

(Bild: APA Pool/LUKAS COCH / AFP)

17 appointments in one day
A total of 17 appointments were scheduled for Charles and Camilla on Monday, the second official day of their trip, as reported by the Australian broadcaster ABC. At midday (local time), the royal couple laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, with which the country commemorates those soldiers who have died in conflicts around the world from the colonial era to the present day. This was followed by a visit to Parliament, where both were received by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "Since your first visit in 1966, Australians have taken you to their hearts, just as you have taken us to your hearts," said Albanese.

This is the first long-distance trip for Charles since he made his cancer public a few months ago. According to British media, he has interrupted his treatment because of the visit. On Wednesday, the couple intend to travel on to the Commonwealth summit in the Pacific island state of Samoa, north-east of Fiji. The Commonwealth consists mainly of former British colonies.