‘Happy Birthday Motherf*cker’: Australian Protestors Behead King George Statue On King Charles’ Birthday

“We’ve been sent a birthday greeting for his majesty,” the activists wrote online. (Screengrab via 9 News Australia)

Activists beheaded a statue of King George V and covered it in red paint on Monday as Australians held a national holiday for reigning British monarch King Charles III’s birthday.

King George V, who reigned from 1910 until 1936, is Charles’ great-grandfather. Australian constitutional law sets out that the monarch of the United Kingdom will also be recognised as the monarch of Australia.

In a video posted to Instagram, set to the Sex Pistols’ anti-monarchy anthem God Save the Queen, members of Disrupt Wars and the Whistleblowers, Activists & Communities Alliance (WACA) can be seen sawing through the statues neck under the cover of darkness.

The monument was then doused in red paint, and the words “THE COLONY WILL FALL” were scrawled across it. The clip ends with an image of the severed head on the ground, captioned: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHERFUCKER.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8A5tPghsWO/

“We’ve been sent a birthday greeting for his majesty,” reads the post caption, followed by the hashtags #freepalestine and #landback – referencing indigenous rights.

Police responded to the scene in Melbourne on Monday morning and are investigating the incident.