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An Aboriginal protester has been arrested at the Sydney Opera House as crowds await a glimpse of the King and Queen on the final day of their tour in Australia.<\/p>\n
Throngs of people have packed the harbourside forecourt, where the royal couple are due to visit on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Wayne Wharton, a prominent Indigenous activist from Brisbane, was arrested after shouting anti-monarchist slogans and refusing a police order to move on.<\/p>\n
It comes as backlash over an Aboriginal senator’s heckling of King Charles in Canberra on Monday intensifies, with politicians and some Indigenous leaders condemning Lidia Thorpe’s behaviour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Mr Wharton had shouted “he\u2019s not my King”, echoing the words of Thorpe the day before.<\/p>\n
The crowd waiting for the royals – many clutching mini union jack flags – shouted back “God save the King”.<\/p>\n
Mr Wharton had also protested outside the church service the royals attended on Sunday.<\/p>\n
When the Kooma man was arrested and placed into a police van on Tuesday, the gathered crowd applauded officers.<\/p>\n
Many of the hundreds there had been queuing since early on Tuesday, a few draped in British flags. Others had accessorised with royal-themed jewellery and handbags.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to celebrate our country and all the people in it,\u201d says Karen Clark, with her little boys Benjamin and Harrison who were both wearing crowns and capes with a fake fur trim. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were brought up with the King, we celebrate the King\u2019s birthday with the boys – it\u2019s fun to have high tea and dress up in our best outfits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was from Liverpool and I\u2019ve always been interested in the Royals,\u201d says Bettina Bethuel who came with her friend Taja Shephard.<\/p>\n
Taja saw the heckling by Thorpe on TV and wasn\u2019t impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u00cf thought it was a little rude but I suppose she makes her point for Indigenous people,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate how she behaved.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other side of the city on Tuesday, King Charles visited the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, where he met with Aboriginal elders.<\/p>\n
The independent senator’s protest has been praised by some Indigenous activists as brave, but condemned by other prominent Aboriginal Australians as “embarrassing” and disrespectful.<\/p>\n
It has also been roundly criticised by her parliamentary peers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n