Australia holds national day of mourning for Queen
STORY: With the day declared a national holiday, a memorial ceremony attended by 600 dignitaries was held at Parliament House in Canberra for Queen Elizabeth, who died on Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne. As Australia's head of state she toured the country 16 times during her reign.
The ceremony was opened by a First Nations Elder, Aunty Violet Sheridan, who made a traditional Welcome to Country, and remembered Queen Elizabeth as a mother and grandmother.
The event took place before anti-monarchy protests organised by indigenous groups saw hundreds of people gather in the city centres of Sydney and Melbourne to mark the impact of Britain's colonisation on First Nations people.
Albanese, who returned to Australia a day earlier after attending Queen Elizabeth's funeral in London, noted her memory was being honoured "on a continent home to the world's oldest continuous culture".
