Queen Victoria statue attacked with red paint hours before King Charles and Queen Camilla tour

As King Charles and Queen Camilla look furious protests connected their Australia royal circuit a celebrated statue of Queen Victoria becomes the latest unfortunate conscionable a fewer blocks away

An iconic statue of Queen Victoria successful cardinal Sydney has been defaced with reddish paint, conscionable hours earlier the King and Queen circuit the city.

Charles and Camilla are acceptable to bash a conscionable and greet with the nationalist extracurricular the Sydney Opera House, a fewer blocks distant from the defaced statue.

Police surrounded the statue extracurricular the Queen Victoria Building successful the city’s cardinal concern district, aft reddish overgarment was thrown implicit the basal of the statue.

The incidental comes conscionable a time aft Aboriginal Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe subjected the King and Queen to a verbal battle astatine Parliament House successful the nation's capital, Canberra.

The King and Queen person vowed to proceed their Aussie sojourn "undeterred" contempt the disfigured scenes which person been wide condemned crossed the governmental spectrum.

Dressed successful indigenous formal and waving a portion of paper, she approached the signifier successful beforehand of dumbfounded MPs and guests, shouting “You are not my King”.

As information scrambled to region her from the gathering she screamed: “You committed genocide against our people. Give america our onshore back, springiness america backmost what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.
“You destroyed our lands, springiness america a treaty, we privation a pact successful the country, you are a genocidalist (SIC).”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a known republican, said Senator Thorpe’s show was “disrespectful” and fell abbreviated of the modular of behaviour for MPs.

In Sydney connected Tuesday the royals volition sojourn the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence successful the city, an engagement that was planned months agone for the royals past afloat time successful the country.

Palace sources said the King and Queen had enjoyed their sojourn to Australia, wherever the monarch has paused his crab attraction to beryllium capable to alert Down Under.

Aunty Violet Sheridan, a elder Ngunnawal Elder who formally welcomed Charles and Camilla to her ancestral lands erstwhile they entered Parliament House, said the legislator did not talk for her.

She said: "We are each truthful disappointed by it. To person that successful the Great Hall - disgusting. I americium truthful upset astir her. He has waited truthful agelong to beryllium king, helium has rehearsed for it each his life. He is our king, our sovereign and helium has got cancer."

A palace root said: "The King and Queen person been profoundly touched by seeing and proceeding from the precise galore thousands of radical who person turned up successful Sydney and Canberra to spot them.

"The warmth and standard of the reception was genuinely awesome."

New South Wales Police said: "About 5.30am contiguous (Tuesday 22 October 2024), constabulary were called to Queen Victoria Building, Market Street, Sydney CBD, pursuing reports a statue had been vandalised.

"Officers attached to Sydney City Police Area Command person established a transgression country and an probe has commenced. As inquiries continue, anyone with accusation astir this incidental is urged to interaction Crime Stoppers connected 1800 333 000."