Iconic statue of Queen Victoria defaced in Sydney

An iconic statue of Queen Victoria has been defaced in Sydney ahead of King Charles’s arrival.

The statue was attacked with red paint just hours before the King and Queen Camilla are due to undertake a tour of the city.

Protestors defaced the base of the large statue outside the Queen Victoria Building. Police surrounded the statue in the city’s central business district shortly after.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are due to meet the public outside the Sydney Opera House, which is just a few blocks from the statue.

It comes a day after Aboriginal Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe yelled at the King and Queen at Parliament House in Canberra regarding the destruction of Indigenous lands.

She yelled: “You are not my king! You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back, give us back what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our lands, give us a treaty, we want a treaty in the country, you are a genocidalist [sic].”

Aussie Prime Minister, known to be a republican, called the stunt “disrespectful.”