Spain’s shocking reaction to its king and queen shows it’s a dangerous time to be a monarch

There was something shocking about the way the king and queen of Spain were received in the town of Pairporta in Valencia when they came to the region to comfort their people.

Far from being seen as the royal couple sharing the general grief, they were blamed for the disaster. Stones, mud and abuse were hurled at them. Furious crowds chanted “murderer”.

King Felipe VI appeared angry and Queen Letizia was visibly upset. He brushed aside those trying to protect him in order to speak to his people and the queen was seen hugging survivors. Perhaps it was a pity that their visit coincided with that of prime minister Pedro Sanchez, whose car was battered and kicked in the general melee.

Of course, this says more about the shattered community and their suffering than it does about the king and queen. Some 217 people are known to have died in the disaster, described as the second deadliest flood in Europe this century.

No one seriously thought the king and queen had caused this, but the people clearly felt they should have visited sooner. The anger depended on inadequate warnings being given about the flooding. Many felt that had things been handled better, many lives could have been saved.

Al Jazeera’s reporter, Sonia Gallego, concluded: “The king seems to have become some sort of lightning rod for people’s anger here as they look towards some form of authority to try and explain the disastrous situation.”

There was some similarity in the controversy over Queen Elizabeth II not immediately visiting Aberfan after the terrible colliery coal tip in October 1966, even though Lord Snowdon and Prince Philip were quick to go to the scene.

She did not want a visit by her to get in the way of the essential rescue operation that was taking place. She did visit later, and on many subsequent occasions. The prime minister, Theresa May, was quick to go to Grenfell Tower after the catastrophic fire of 2017.

Inevitably some judged this as politically motivated. When the Queen went, the atmosphere was different, in fact quite extraordinary – a monarch comforting her people and somehow the great portfolio of suffering, drawn from other places she had visited over the years, Aberfan and Dunblane for example, came with her.

The Queen’s visit to Grenfell Tower was greatly appreciated by the survivors. It emphasised the essential role of a monarch – to be above politics and to represent the entire country.

The Spanish royal family has had a more complicated past than our royal family. King Alfonso XIII was driven into exile in 1931 and Spain was run by General Franco as a dictator. He wanted the monarchy to return when he died and selected Prince Juan Carlos, King Alfonso’s grandson, as his chosen successor; bypassing his less satisfactory father, Juan, Count of Barcelona. Franco died in 1975 and the transition was smooth.

In the early years of his reign, the new king was effective – never more so than when the civil guard attempted a coup in the parliamentary chamber of the Cortes. Wearing his uniform as captain-general of the armed forces, he broadcast to the nation and foiled the coup.

This greatly improved the standing of Juan Carlos’s reign. Sadly the later years of his reign were less felicitous, with rumours of affairs and dodgy financial dealings, not to mention an elephant hunting trip in Botswana. He abdicated in 2014 and the present king took over.

The king of Spain is more politically involved in Spain and overseas than our King. He and the Queen have not been entirely free from controversies themselves. Today, he will be ruminating about the reception he received in Valencia.

Our King had a successful visit to Australia – made more so, curiously, by the unparliamentary protest from senator Lidia Thorpe. He was generally commended for the success of his trip, not least because it was undertaken at a time when he was still undergoing treatment for cancer.

The BBC chose to interview the senator at length outside the chamber and dedicated many web pages to the incident, rather than to the trip. Queen Camilla is commended for the documentary about to be shown about domestic abuse, Prince William’s visit to South Africa in connection with the Earthshot Prize is widely covered.

And yet The Sunday Times undermines the King and Prince William with three pages devoted to the finances of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, clearly aimed at inflaming republican sentiments.

We do seem to be living in dangerous times, especially from the point of view of the media. In a fast-changing world, monarchy has a vital role to play in this country – and hopefully also in Spain.