'King of Thieves!': King Charles Faces Down Aboriginal Protestors During Australia Tour After 'Crazed' Aussie Senator Outburst
King Charles III was met by "loud and passionate" Aboriginal protestor, Wayne Wharton, outside the iconic Sydney Opera House on Tuesday, October 22, as His Majesty and Queen Camilla arrived to greet fans.
"BBC footage shows Wharton shouting 'he is a King of thieves' and 'you have the blood on your hands of invasion' to crowds, who responded with chants of 'God save the King.' Wharton is then arrested after refusing a police order to move on, shouting 'you don't win' as he is escorted away by police," the BBC shared.
This followed Indigenous Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe, an Independent, "aggressively" shouting down the monarch within Australia's Parliament chamber on Monday, October 21. His Majesty had just finished addressing his Aussie Parliament for the first time as monarch when, from the back of the room, Thorpe shouted, "You are not my King. Give us our land back, give us what you stole!"
The King, who is Australia's head of state and monarch, had just finished saying, "Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures. I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom."
Both royal fans and critics took to X to let their feelings be known.
One commenter said, "What a crazed loon, and she was actually put into office by people — not looking good Australia."
Someone else quipped, "You can always get a good laugh for the day when the down with the crown crazies are out and about!"
A third said, "So glad to see an actual elected official voice what many of us feel but are silenced in saying."
Many royal analysts have praised the King for not reacting to any of the protests, and one went so far as to suggest HM understands their anger.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams shared, "It's absolutely essential in my view that the sensitivities in different countries are observed. If you look, for example, the last time William and Catherine sadly went abroad, was in March 2022 to the Caribbean. It wasn't successful because of the issues, although I think it was wrong, and they were hypersensitive, particularly with demands for reparations."
He added, "You look at the Commonwealth, the 56 countries now, I think that's an enormously important institution and we benefit in all sorts of ways as to the other countries or members of it."
About the tour, the Buckingham Palace Press Office stated, "The King's visit to Australia will be His Majesty’s first to a realm as monarch, whilst the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa is the first the King will attend as Head of the Commonwealth."
The King, who has this year been receiving treatment for cancer, decided to suspend his procedures temporarily for the trip.