Getting Thrown at and Called 'Murderers', the Spanish Royal Family Does Not Deter Visiting Flood Victims Again

Illustration of floods in Europe. (Unsplash-Chris Gallagher)

JAKARTA - The Spanish royal family is scheduled to return to greet its citizens in areas affected by severe flooding in Valencia. The visit will take place on Tuesday, November 19 local time.

Quoting AFP, the Spanish Palace will provide details of the visit in the near future.

According to the Spanish Palace, the planned visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia is an effort to fulfill the royal promise to return to the flood-affected area after previously receiving a negative response from residents.

Spain is known to have been hit by severe flooding that killed 227 people on October 29, 2024. Residents affected by the disaster were angry at the time that the government was considered unprofessional in handling the crisis, resulting in fatalities.

The anger boiled over in the city of Paiporta, eastern Valencia on November 3, 2024. At that time, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who were visiting the flood-affected area, were pelted with mud and shouted at as "murderers" by disaster survivors.

The two of them, along with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, had to be evacuated by officers through the crowd of residents to return to the Palace. Plans to continue the visit to other flood-affected areas, such as the city of Chiva, have been canceled.

Vicente Garrido, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Valencia, told AFP that residents affected by Spain's severe flooding are now somewhat calmer.

Despite the lingering resentment towards the Spanish monarchy, he said the planned visit would be received by residents as "an honor".