Why the King and Queen of Spain were pelted with mud by angry citizens

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Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain are confronted enough scandals when it comes to the Spanish royal family over the years, but unfortunately their recent visit to visit the flood victims took a messy turn when a crowd turned on the royal couple.

The Valencia region was hit by deadly flooding last week, with the death toll rising to 217 people on Monday, November 4, according to the Associated press. The Spanish royal couple traveled to the area on November 3 to comfort people affected by the disaster, but growing frustration among victims led to Letizia and Felipe – along with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other officials on the ground – being pelted. with mud and other objects.

According to the Daily mailThe royals “remained calm and made several attempts to speak to individual residents” after the incident, but local officials “fled” the scene after crowd members turned violent.

‘What do you expect? That we tell him sweet nothings?’ a local man said of King Felipe, according to the publication. The supermarket worker, who lost twelve colleagues in the flood, blamed the government for the disaster. “They wanted to kill us. The first thing you have to do is warn people when a dam is about to be overwhelmed and breached,” he said.

“The king and everyone came very clean and looked good for the city and the cameras, but this doesn’t help us at all,” said another resident. “He should come here and get rid of the mud and the dead lying in garages. And then he will be one of us.’

Letizia and Felipe appeared unharmed, although one of their royal protection officers was hit in the face with an object and was bleeding, police said. Daily mail.

Queen Letizia– with dirt on her face and jacket – appeared distraught over the devastation she witnessed, breaking down in tears in a video shared by the BBC as she spoke to victims and gave one woman a long, tight hug.

After a member of the crowd shouted insults at him, the Spanish king snapped back and replied: “If you want, I won’t come and I’ll stay in Madrid,” referring to the royal palace. It certainly seemed a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t, as the royal family would have faced extreme criticism if they had not visited the area worst affected by the floods.

That said, the royals were due to visit another Valencian city but chose not to attend after the incident, with residents “reportedly shouting ‘cowards’ at the absent monarchs,” the newspaper said. Daily mail.

The Spanish king later shared his thoughts on the visit, telling officials (according to the Guardianvia People), “You have to understand the anger and frustration of many people, given everything they have been through, as well as the difficulty in understanding how all the mechanisms work when it comes to emergency operations.”