‘Deleted it’: Mystery over King Charles beheading post

Lidia Thorpe was forced to delete a picture of King Charles being beheaded from her social media after it sparked outrage.

Australian senator Lidia Thorpe has deleted an image of King Charles being beheaded after it sparked backlash.

The controversial MP said that the image was uploaded “without her knowledge” and she has now “deleted it”.

Writing on X she said: “Earlier tonight, without my knowledge, one of my staff shared an image to my Instagram stories created by another account.

“I deleted it as soon as I saw. I would not intentionally share anything that could be seen to encourage violence against anyone. That’s not what I’m about.”

Ms Thorpe made headlines around the world after she shouted at the King, who was alongside his wife Queen Camilla, during a welcome reception at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

Just hours later, what she claims was a memeber of staff took to her Instagram to reshare a cartoon of Charles’ head lying next to a crown, which was captioned: “You are not our King.”

It was first created by Matt Chun, co-editor of anti-imperialist publication, The Sunday Paper.

The senator’s latest post comes as she faces heavy backlash for her display in the Great Hall, with furious monarchists calling on her to resign, calling her outburst “embarrassing” and “rude”.

Lidia Thorpe said this graphic post was uploaded by a staff member without her knowledge.

Politicians and journalists have also condemned Ms Thorpe’s actions, reacting in shock after Ms Thorpe accused the King of genocide.

The controversial Indigenous MP screamed out “f**k the colony” and “you are not my King” in the Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra earlier today, shortly after the monarch had delivered a speech praising Australia.

Senator Thorpe also yelled out a demand for “treaty”, telling the King “you stole our land”, as audible groans could be heard in the Great Hall.

“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land,” she shouted, while dressed in a native fur coat.

Senator Thorpe was swiftly evicted by security guards, who had been watching her throughout the proceedings.

The King and Queen outwardly appeared unbothered by the stunt, each quickly smiling and turning to speak to those seated next to them.

Earlier, Ms Thorpe had also turned her back as the national anthem and “God Save the King” was played.

The high-profile MP is known for her outbursts, but this marks her most high-profile yet - and footage of the incident has been met with fierce backlash, with one fellow senator demanding she apologise to the King, who persisted with the long journey from the UK to visit Australia despite being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.

He has paused his regular treatments for the duration of his trip.

“To show such utter disrespect to King Charles, who has travelled to Australia, despite ongoing cancer treatment, is disgusting,” United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet told the Herald Sun.

“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.”

The King with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: Saeed Khan-Pool/Getty Images

Ms Thorpe has previously spoken out against the British monarchy - she famously called the late Queen a “coloniser” and, in 2022, was reprimanded for sarcastically reciting the oath of allegiance as she was sworn into parliament.

Her latest outburst sparked outrage on social media, with a post she published on X afterwards declaring “Not my King” prompting many to point out she had “sworn an oath of office” and demanding she “resign now”.

“Um, you are a member of parliament where he is the Head of State. He literally is your king,” one user on X wrote.

“You swore an oath of office Lidia. I guess honour and integrity are alien concepts to you,” another said.

One wrote simply: “You are a disgrace.”

“You swore an oath to serve the king and you get paid $250k per year to do so. Withdraw your allegiance and pay back the money you took from the commonwealth if you don’t want to serve it with respect,” a user pointed out.

High-profile journalist and former 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell also didn’t mince words.

“What Lidia Thorpe did was show appalling manners toward a guest in this country,” he wrote on X. “She needs a better way to make her point.”

He later followed up: “Strange. The Senate has no power to censure Senator Thorpe, we are told.... A senator embarrasses the country and nothing can be done. Wrong.”

The incident also generated plenty of attention internationally, with major British networks leading their news bulletins with footage of the outburst.

The “not my King” outburst not the first protest action by the senator during the royal tour, which will wrap up on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, she was nearly arrested at an Indigenous protest outside the Australian War Memorial.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe argues with a police officer while protesting in Canberra as King Charles visits Australia. Picture: NewsWire

A group of some two dozen Indigenous protesters had positioned themselves outside the Memorial, chanting “always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.

The group was well away from where the King and Queen appeared.

In a video circulating online, a police officer can be seen holding Senator Thorpe’s red shirt.

Senator Thorpe then twists out of the shirt and walks away from the officer, who follows her.

The outspoken Indigenous senator is a relentless critic of the monarchy and Britain’s intrusion into the Australian continent.

She left the protest and could later be seen inside parliament, waiting for the arrival of the monarchs.

In a statement, the AFP said no arrests had been made from the incident.

“This morning, police spoke to a protest group near the Australian War Memorial,” an AFP spokeswoman said.

“The group was directed to move on from the area and they complied with that direction.

“No arrests were made and police consider the matter finalised.”

- with Newswire

Originally published as ‘Deleted it’: Mystery over King Charles beheading post