Brisbane, Australia
CNN
—

The British King Charles III. had just delivered a speech to the Australian Parliament on Monday when an Indigenous senator began shouting: “You are not my king.”

From the back of the room, independent senator Lidia Thorpe shouted to the royal couple: “Give us back our land, give us what you stole,” as security officers moved to escort them away.

The heckling came as King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Australian capital Canberra to meet the country's leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

During his speech, King Charles paid tribute to Australia's indigenous people, who lived on the land for tens of thousands of years before British settlers arrived over 230 years ago.

“Throughout my life, the indigenous people of Australia have given me the great honor of sharing their stories and cultures so generously,” King Charles said.

“I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by this traditional wisdom.”

A traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony for the royal couple was previously held outside Parliament House, but they are not welcome for many of the country's indigenous population.

The arrival of British settlers in Australia led to massacres of Indigenous peoples in hundreds of locations across the country until the 1930s. Their ancestors still suffer racism and systemic discrimination in a country that has failed to reverse centuries of disadvantage.

Thorpe, a woman from DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara, has long advocated for a treaty and has previously voiced strong objections to the British monarchy.

Aboriginal Australians never gave up their sovereignty and never entered into a treaty process with the British Crown. Australia remains a Commonwealth country with the King as head of state.

During her swearing-in ceremony in 2022, Thorpe referred to Australia's then-head of state as “the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” and was asked to take the oath again.

She did this while raising a fist in the air.

Indigenous lawmaker calls Queen Elizabeth II a colonizer during ceremony

On Monday, protesters stood with an Aboriginal flag as the royal couple visited the Australian War Memorial. A 62-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with a police order.

Before screaming at the king, Thorpe turned his back on her during a concert of “God Save the King,” Australian media reported. The images showed her wearing a possum fur coat and standing in the opposite direction to the other participants.

The Greens said in a statement that the king's presence was “a momentous occasion for some” but also a “visual reminder of ongoing colonial trauma and the legacies of British colonialism” for many First Nations people.

In the statement, Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, called on the king to clearly express his recognition and support for “justice, truth-telling and healing for First Nations people.”

“He needs to be on the right side of history now,” she added.

The Australian Monarchist League called for Thorpe's resignation after what it called a “childish demonstration”.

Royal supporters and a sneezing alpaca

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Sydney on Friday, part of the monarch's first trip to a Commonwealth realm since his accession to the throne.

It is the king's first long-haul, multi-country trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year, and his schedule is said to have been relaxed following medical advice.

However, Monday's outing was a hive of activity that began with a meet and greet with supporters, many of whom were waving Australian flags.

Among them was an alpaca named Hephner, who caught the king's attention and immediately sneezed on him.

Royal fan Chloe Pailthorpe, 44, said she loved the royal tour and had been writing to the royal household since she was 10.

“We just love what the royals do and how they impact local communities, and we support our work with volunteer work and just charitable work,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A 21-gun salute announced the King's arrival at Parliament House, and in his speech Albanese praised the royal couple for their charitable work.

He also commented on the King's early recognition of the “difficult reality of climate change” and the need for people to “take meaningful and effective action against it.”

To express his interest in the environment, the King was invited to plant trees in the Parliament House and the Botanical Gardens.

The royal couple's next stop will be Sydney on Tuesday, where there will be a public reception outside the Opera House, before flying to Samoa for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the king's first meeting as head of the organization.

CNN's Angus Watson contributed to this report.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Lidia Thorpe is an independent senator and no longer a member of the Green Party