The King’s speech in the Australian parliament was disrupted by shouts of “genocide”, as a senator used the royal visit to protest.

       Lidia Thorpe also shouted “f--- the colonies” before she was escorted from the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.

       Moments before, the King had delivered a speech in which he particularly addressed the First Nations people and their “traditional wisdom”, thanking them for their welcome ceremony and paying his respects to the “traditional owners of the lands on which we meet”.

       After the speech, which also touched on the King and Elizabeth II’s memories of visits to Australia and topics including climate change, Ms Thorpe, who is well known for her protests, shouted: “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, give us a treaty – we want a treaty, we want a treaty with this country. This is not your land. This is not your land.

       “You are not my King, you are not our King. F--- the colonies.”

       She was escorted from the hall by security as she continued to berate the King.

       He was said to have been “unruffled” by the interruption and determined not let it overshadow an otherwise “wonderful day”.

       Ms Thorpe was immediately condemned by fellow politicians, one of whom called her conduct “disgraceful” and “disrespectful”.

       Eric Abetz, former Tasmania senator, told the Australian Daily Telegraph: “If anyone did that to an individual elder she would rightly have words to say as do I.

       “The senator would love to make herself a martyr on the back of her bad behaviour and I personally would deny her that pleasure.”

       Ralph Babet, a United Australia Party senator, said: “To show such utter disrespect to King Charles, who has travelled 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.”

       Ms Thorpe, 51, is an independent senator. In 2022, she was compelled to repeat the oath of allegiance for Australian parliamentarians after initially describing the late Queen as a “coloniser”.

       Guests had gathered in the hall for a celebratory reception during the royal visit to Australia, with drinks and canapés served and a string quartet playing in the background.

       The King and Queen were invited to take seats for speeches.

       In his address, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, told the King: “You have shown great respect for Australians even during times when we have debated the future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our relationship with the crown. Nothing stands still.”

       He added: “Australians have long felt that the warmth that your mother felt for this country is a warmth that thrives in your own heart.

       “Your Majesties are very welcome here, and, on behalf of all Australians, we wish you an absolutely splendid stay.”

       Peter Dutton MP delivered a four-minute speech in which he told the monarch: “Your 17th visit to Australia is truly special to Australians, not only of course because it’s your first visit as our King but also it’s a testament to your recovery.

       “We hope your spirits have been lifted by the response you’ve seen so far in Sydney and today at the War Memorial and here in this hall for this eclectic gathering.

       “People have had hair cuts, people have shined shoes, suits have been pressed… and that’s just the Republicans.

       “Upon your return home, Your Majesties, I know that you will convey the Australian peoples well wishes to the Princess of Wales.”

       The King and Queen’s arrival had been announced by the sound of a didgeridoo.

       In the King’s own speech, he recalled his first 1966 visit.

       He spoke of the “life-shaping – and life-affirming – opportunity” to join a bush campus school, which left him a “more rounded – if not even somewhat chiselled – character once [he] had contended with brown snakes, leeches, funnel-web spiders and bull ants, and – bearing in mind this was very nearly 60 years ago – been given certain unmentionable parts of a bull calf to eat from a branding fire in outback Queensland.”

       He added: “I cannot begin to express how pleased we are to be here again, nor how sad I am that it has to be so short on this occasion.

       “When we turn our steps homeward, we will carry memories of friendships renewed, of new ones forged and of the characteristic warmth and inimitable humour of Australians which you share with those who are fortunate enough to know you.”

       The visit to Parliament House came on the fourth day of the King and Queen’s tour.

       They have so far faced only low-key protests from critics, who displayed a banner with the word “decolonise” at an event in Sydney.

       As Ms Thorpe shouted, the King spoke quietly with Mr Albanese on the podium while security officials stopped Ms Thorpe from approaching any further and escorted her out of the Great Hall.

       Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister, who attended the event, expressed his dismay at the protest.

       “It’s unfortunate political exhibitionism, that’s all I’d say,” he told the Australian press after the event.

       Another of the guests, Keith Payne, a Victoria Cross recipient, said: “I was absolutely amazed that she got through the door. That was uncalled for and un-Australian.”

       Speaking before the reception, Ms Thorpe told journalists that she was planning an outburst, claiming: “I’m going to tell him he’s not my King. He’s not our King.

       “All of the wealth that he has created for his family has been stolen. He should apologise for taking our land. We need a peace treaty.”

       Outside the venue, the King and Queen received a warm welcome from crowds who had been waiting for hours to see them.

       Mary Cruden, 83, and her daughter Kathy Carter, 60, gave the Queen a gift of a kangaroo crossing tea towel, telling her that they hoped that it would be helpful when she’s “wiping up” at home. They also gave the King an Australian bush hat with hanging cork pieces.

       “That’s my bucket list completed,” said Mrs Cruden afterwards.

       A palace source said: “Their Majesties were deeply touched by seeing and hearing the very many thousands who’d turned out to support them, and are only sorry they didn’t have a chance to stop and talk to every single one.

       “The warmth and scale of the reception was truly awesome. While they are grateful to all the crowds, Their Majesties particularly enjoyed hearing individual stories of those who’d made such a special effort to be there.”

       Aunty Violet Sheridan, a senior Ngunnawal elder who conducted a “Welcome to Country” ceremony at the event, condemned the outburst as “disrespectful and rude”.

       She was sitting on the stage with the King, Queen, and prime minister when Ms Thorpe heckled them.

       “It was fabulous right up until that incident,” said Aunty Violet. She added the protest had “frightened the life out of me”.

       She said: “I thought she was disrespectful and out of line. She does not speak for me or my family. He [the King] is a guest of ours and she is a senator, for goodness sake. It was out of place.

       “We are all so disappointed by it. 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 am a big supporter of reconciliation and the healing process. We need to work this out. 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.”

       On the fourth of the royal visit to Australia, the King and Queen also attended events about preventing bush fires, domestic violence against women, and paid tribute at a war memorial.

       Among the many turning out to greet them was an alpaca called Hephner, who wore a suit collar, gold bow tie and crown – and sneezed after the King tickled his nose.

       When they arrived in Canberra on a Royal Australian Air Force flight, the King and Queen were greeted with a traditional “smoking ceremony” from the Ngunnawal community.

       Robert Palm, 49, lit leaves and the King and Queen were encouraged to waft the smoke towards themselves with their hands to “clear the passage so they can have a good journey in this land”.

       “It takes away bad spirits,” Mr Palm said, adding that he had chosen eucalyptus leaves and lemon grass leaves “because of his cancer – we wanted to make it really nice and fragrant”.

       On Tuesday, the King will visit the National Centre of Aboriginal Excellence in Sydney.