Shocking moment Charles is heckled by Australian senator shouting ‘you are not my King’ with security forced to step in
THIS is the shocking moment King Charles was heckled by an Australian senator before security was forced to step in.
The disruption came amid Charles’, 75, landmark speech in Australia’s parliament overnight UK time.
Charles was given a 20 second standing ovation for his address and was taking his seat when Senator Lidia Thorpe emerged in the chamber.
She called out “You are not our King” and “You destroyed our land”.
As security stood in the way to prevent her getting near the King who was sat beside Camilla just 30 feet away, she called out to him: “This is not your land, you are not our King.”
The monarch brushed off the awkward encounter and continued to smile as Thorpe was embarrassingly walked out by security.
Senator Thorpe, 51, is an Aboriginal Australian independent politician and has been a senator for Victoria since 2000.
She was once banned for life from a Melbourne strip club for shouting profanities at a group of men.
Thorpe was filmed outside Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club, telling one he is a “marked” man.
The senator said in a statement that the men singled her out and provoked her, taking issue with her stance on Indigenous affairs.
She was on Monday ushered out of the room after around 30 seconds by security.
Former Tasmania Senator and monarchist Eric Abetz said Ms Thorpe’s conduct was “disgraceful” and “disrespectful”.
He said: “If anyone did that to an individual elder she would rightly have words to say as do I.
“Very poor form Senator. Bad behaviour speaks for itself.
“In a free society people are free to behave badly as long as it’s not illegal.
“The Senator would love to make herself a martyr on the back of her bad behaviour and I personally would deny her that pleasure.”
United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet demanded Ms Thorpe apologise for harassing the King, who travelled to Australia amid a pause in treatment for an unspecified cancer.
He said: “To show such utter disrespect to King Charles, who has traveled to Australia, despite ongoing cancer treatment, is disgusting.
“Senator Thorpe has disgraced not only herself and the Australian Parliament, but every Australian man, woman and child.
“Senator Thorpe demanded an apology from King Charles, I’d say it’s King Charles and the Australian people that should be demanding an apology from Senator Thorpe.”
Her behaviour today also caught the attention of Nationals leader David Littleproud.
He said: “Lidia Thorpe’s business model of making a scene to get attention is predictable but it’s sadly now just becoming embarrassing for her.”
Liberal MP Jonno Duniam said: “Lidia Thorpe is supposed to represent all of the people of Victoria, not a small portion of the community,” he said.
“ I don’t give the Greens credit often, and they disagree with the Crown, they don’t agree with the institution of the monarchy but they didn’t charge the taxpayer to come to Canberra and make a scene.
“Whereas Lidia Thorpe did. She stood there, turned her back during the national anthem, shook her head all the way through the speeches and then made a scene which will achieve nothing for anyone.
“Lidia should reflect on her behaviour…she needs to take stock of what she’s doing and ask herself why she’s doing it.”
Senator Thorpe 'banned' from strip club
The senator who yelled at the King was once banned for life from a Melbourne strip club for shouting profanities at a group of men.
Thorpe was filmed outside Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club, telling one he is a “marked” man.
The senator said in a statement that the men singled her out and provoked her, taking issue with her stance on Indigenous affairs.
Maxine’s general manager, David Ross, wrote to Thorpe’s office to issue a life ban from the premises.
He said the senator had spent a few hours in the venue with a small group of friends, who were there for a 50th birthday party.
Staff at the club claimed Thorpe approached a number of men and told them they had “stolen her land”.
Rosa said: “We can’t have that sort of thing here, because we do pride ourselves on being harmonious melting pot of the local community.”
In a letter sent to Thorpe’s office on Monday, Ross said that after reviewing security footage and speaking to staff, the senator was “no longer welcome” at the club.