Lidia Thorpe: Australian senator who heckled King Charles
AUSTRALIAN senator Lidia Thorpe made headlines around following her outburst during the Royal tour.
In October 2024, she was seen being hauled off my security after she heckled King Charles during his address in Australia’s parliament.
Born in 1973, Lidia Thorpe is an Australian independent politician.
Her grandmother was Alma Thorpe, the founder of Victoria’s Aboriginal Health service.
Lidia has been a senator for Victoria since 2020, and is the first Aboriginal senator from that state.
Lidia’s political career started when she was elected as Victoria’s MP in 2017.
She has received a lot of media attention for her support of the Blak Sovereign Movement and her criticism of the legitimacy of Australian political institutions – which she views as stemming from colonialism.
Heckling King Charles
On October 21, 2024, Lidia hit the headlines when she heckled King Charles during his tour of Australia.
It came after he gave a landmark speech in Australia’s parliament.
As Charles was given a standing ovation for his address, Lidia emerged in the chamber and called out: “You are not our King” and “You destroyed our land”.
As security prevented her from getting near the King she called out to him: “This is not your land, you are not our King.”
The monarch brushed off the awkward encounter as Lidia was escorted out of the building.
Following her outburst, Aunty Violet Sheridan, a Senior Ngunnawal Elder, spoke of her fury at Lidia’s actions, describing it as “disrespectful and rude”.
She was sitting on the stage with the King and Queen when Lidia started to heckle them.
Aunty Violet said: “It was fabulous right up until that incident. I thought she was disrespectful and out of line. She does not speak for me or my family.
“I was on the stage sitting just beyond the Prime Minister and it absolutely frightened the life out of me. I didn’t expect it and I am sure no-one else was expecting it.
“We are all so disappointed by it. To have that in the Great Hall? Disgusting. I am so upset about her. He has waited so long to be King, he has rehearsed for it all his life. He is our King, our sovereign and he has got cancer.
“I said to my husband ‘I feel so sad for him’. I was sitting tight by him. I am a very spiritual person and I feel really comfortable about him. I just felt it.
“He is a good man. He thanked me for my welcome. This is sad. He has got cancer and that idiot, I am sorry to say that word, went and did that. I felt so sad that he has travelled all this way.
“I don’t want my grandchildren when Prince George becomes King and comes here and that happens to him. I hope we fix this up before our next generation comes through.
“Hopefully people see it for what it is. A one-off idiot.”
Banned from strip club
This isn’t the first time Lidia has hit the spotlight for protesting.
Inn 2023, she banned for life from a Melbourne strip club for allegedly shouting profanities at a group of men.
She was filmed outside Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club, telling one he is a “marked” man.
Lidia later said in a statement that the men “singled her out” and “provoked her”.
Staff at the club claimed Lidia approached a number of men and told them they had “stolen her land”.
Maxine’s general manager, David Ross, later wrote to the senator’s office to issue a life ban from the premises.
He said at the time: “We can’t have that sort of thing here, because we do pride ourselves on being harmonious melting pot of the local community.”