With visibly serious faces and prepared to face the horror that in the form of Dana devastated the Valencian Community five days ago, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, dressed in black, arrived this morning in Valencia to accompany the victims. The Kings have been updated on the latest developments in the rescue and recovery of basic supplies and have expressed their close condolences and affection to the families of the deceased and missing, as well as support to the neighbors in the recovery of basic supplies.
However, the good disposition of the Head of State and his wife collided with the tension and fatigue of the neighbors who did not hesitate to confront Pedro Sánchez when he met with King Felipe and Queen Letizia at the command center. They also targeted the entourage, throwing mud and insulting the authorities. The King, along with Carlos Mazón, halted the visit to engage in dialogue with the neighbors, while the insults continued. Pedro Sánchez and the Queen have left the entourage.
Additionally, the security forces have blocked one of the streets already cleaned of mud with Civil Guard officers on horseback. This caused volunteers to take a detour to clean through much muddier streets, and the neighbors became upset with the press, saying that instead of recording the institutional visit, they should focus on them.
The Head of State and his wife have been monitoring the evolution of the catastrophe since Tuesday afternoon and today they were able to be with the citizens. The Zarzuela announced their visit yesterday, without disclosing the route they would take to preserve respect for the victims as much as possible, but the significant presence of journalists in the affected areas made it impossible for them to go unnoticed.
The Kings, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón, met with the authorities and visited the flood-affected area.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia have canceled most of their public engagements for the following week, keeping only the audiences at the Zarzuela Palace. On the same Tuesday night, the first message from the Royal Household on social media was "condolences to the families and strength, encouragement, and all the necessary support for all those affected, with a message of closeness and recognition to the emergency services."
On Wednesday morning, in the face of the increasing effects of the catastrophe, a new message of "desolation and concern over the tragedy" was issued, and the King, in military campaign uniform, expressed the conviction "that there be no limitation of resources" and from the Canarian base of Gando, he held a video conference with the UME coordination committee and with forward posts in Valencia and Cuenca.
On Thursday, starting at midnight, in compliance with the national mourning declared, a black ribbon was placed on the Royal Household website and the flag was flown at half-mast at the Zarzuela Palace, and the King announced the decision to deploy members of the Royal Guard and the Security Service of His House to reinforce rescue efforts.
This measure was implemented with the dispatch of 100 military personnel and 47 Civil Guards. Yesterday, the Defense Ministry reported that 57 were already involved in the relief efforts.
In the last public event held on Thursday, King Felipe joined the minute of silence and stated: "We must all, administrations, institutions, and civil society, remain united to alleviate this very hard blow."
Throughout Friday and Saturday, messages poured in from dozens of countries, to whose leaders the King acknowledged on behalf of the Spanish people "our gratitude for the messages of condolence, comfort, support, and solidarity with the Spaniards for the devastating consequences of the DANA."
Additionally, the Kings spoke on the phone with the mayors of the towns of Paiporta, Utiel, Sedaví, Letur, Chiva, Catarroja, Torrent, and Algemesí.
The King will preside over a crisis committee meeting on Monday to monitor the effects of the Dana at the UME headquarters in Torrejón de Ardoz.
Being where citizens are suffering is one of the priorities of the Head of State. As Prince of Asturias, King Felipe learned the importance of being with the people in his youth, and he taught it to Queen Letizia, who before their marriage made her debut in royal duties at the State funeral for the victims of the terrorist attack on March 11.
There, an empathetic woman was revealed, dedicating her time to listening to people who were going through difficult times. This is one of the qualities of the Queen, who always has a personal question for those she greets, a word of encouragement.
Victims of terrorism are a priority on the Kings' agenda, but also all those who suffer. They were with the residents of Barcelona in the summer of 2017, after the attack on Las Ramblas that left 16 dead.
In September 2021, they visited the island of La Palma to see the extent of the volcanic eruption. They were seen talking to residents, who asked them not to leave them alone.
The same happened eight months ago when they traveled to Campanar, in Valencia, to meet the residents of the building that caught fire, leaving ten fatalities. A neighbor summarized the feelings of those who had been with them: "They empathized a lot with us. They listened to each of us for a few minutes and were very approachable. Each one could express their feelings and ask them to help us not be forgotten, as we will continue to face this problem for a long time."