The country's Valencia region was hit by deadly floods last week, with the death toll climbing to 217 people as of Monday, Nov. 4, per the Associated Press. The Spanish royal couple traveled to the area on Nov. 3 to comfort people who had been impacted by the disaster, but growing frustration among the victims led Letizia and Felipe—along with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other officials at the scene—to be pelted with mud and other objects.
According to the Daily Mail, the royals "remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents" after the incident, but the local officials "fled" the scene after members of the crowd turned violent.
"What do you expect? For us to tell him sweet nothings?" a local man said of King Felipe, per the publication. The supermarket worker, who lost 12 coworkers 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 broken," he said.
Queen Letizia looking down in sadness wearing a jacket covered in mud as she speaks to a woman covered in tattoos Queen Letizia looking down in sadness wearing a jacket covered in mud as she speaks to a woman covered in tattoos "The king and all came very clean and to look good in front of the town and cameras but this doesn't help us at all," another resident said. "He should come here and get rid of the mud and the dead that are in garages. And then he'll be one of us."
Letizia and Felipe appeared to be uninjured, although one of their royal protection officers was hit with an object in the face and was bleeding, per the Daily Mail.
Queen Letizia—who had dirt covering her face and jacket—appeared distraught over the devastation she witnessed, bursting into tears in a video shared by the BBC as she spoke with victims and gave one woman a long, tight hug.
King Felipe of Spain holding his hands up in a crowd of people King Felipe of Spain holding his hands up in a crowd of people After a member of the crowd screamed insults at him, the Spanish king snapped back, replying, "If you want, I won't come and I'll stay in Madrid," referring to the royal palace. It certainly seemed to be a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't, as the royals would have faced extreme criticism if they hadn't visited the area hardest hit by the flooding.
That being said, the royals were scheduled to visit another Valencian town but opted not to attend after the incident, while residents "reportedly shouted 'cowards' at the absent monarchs," per the Daily Mail.
The Spanish king later shared his thoughts on the visit, telling officials (per the Guardian, via People), “One has to understand the anger and frustration of many people given all that they have gone through, as well as the difficulty in understanding how all the mechanisms work when it comes to the emergency operations."