Spain's king stood his ground under a mud barrage. What will the iconic moment mean for his reign?

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Mud splattered the cheek of Spain's monarch as survivors of catastrophic floods unleashed their fury in a barrage of muck and mire. Felipe VI took it, literally, on the chin, and his determination to stay and speak to the enraged crowd could redefine his reign.

It instantly became an iconic moment. But what it will mean remains to be seen.

Spain’s royals, prime minister and the Valencian regional president were greeted by a crowd hurling mud and other debris on Sunday when they tried to visit Paiporta, where over 60 people perished in last week's floods. The deluge has killed over 200 people in Spain and shattered communities.

It was the officials' first visit to the devastated area.

Sticky brown globs hit Felipe on the face and all over his black jacket, while Queen Letizia's hands were streaked with the mud that, nearly a week after the floods, still coats street after street of the southern outskirts of Valencia city. Many in the crowd wielded the shovels they are using to dig out their homes.

The anger appeared directed not at the king specifically but at the entire state for its management of the worst natural disaster in Spain's living memory. The government is also saying there were far-right agitators among the locals, implying they wanted to go after the Socialist prime minister.

In any case, for Montserrat Nebrera, professor of constitutional law at the International University of Catalonia, the shocking sight of a muddied monarch could set a precedent for more fervent protests, since "never had such anger been shown to the king.”

Monarchists like Nebrera and even republicans agreed that Felipe, who holds a largely ceremonial position, cut the figure of a man of state. The king insisted that his bodyguards, who tried to cover him with umbrellas, let him get close to talk with residents, some of whom screamed “Get out!” and “Killers!” Letizia has likewise been praised for staying put and speaking with distraught people.

“It could go down as the greatest day of Felipe’s reign,” Oriol Bartomeus, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told The Associated Press.

“If he had sought protection from his bodyguards and run away, now that would have been the darkest day of his reign. Instead he showed why he is king, demonstrating composure and serenity, and by getting as close as he could to the people.”

There is no doubt it was the most memorable moment of his reign.

The 56-year-old Felipe took over a Royal House whose reputation was in tatters after the financial and lifestyle scandals of his father, Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014. Earlier in his reign, Juan Carlos was loved or at least grudgingly respected after helping Spain’s restoration of democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. He was seen as down to earth and fun-loving compared to other European royals.

His son, by contrast, has been perceived as aloof, and has relied on Letizia, a former journalist, to help him run a relatively frugal palace in a nation where republican sentiment is strong.

Felipe heard some jeers when he took part in a tribute to the dead of the 2017 terror attack in Barcelona, but that was nothing compared to Sunday’s reception.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was whisked away by his security detail after he also was pelted. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said “there was a clear danger and (Sánchez) had received a blow.”

The back window of the prime minister’s car was broken. The minister did not specify what hit the prime minister. One of Letizia’s bodyguards had a bloody forehead.

An investigative judge has opened a preliminary probe into possible assault.

Felipe stood his ground for over half an hour. It was impossible to hear what was said, but he spoke to several shouting people in an intimate and apparently serious tone.

Bartomeus, who said he is not a fervent defender of the monarchy, noted what the king didn’t do: He didn’t appear to patronize the people.

“He didn’t console the people, like for example you see the British royals do,” Bartomeus said. Instead, “he dialogued with them. He put the state on his back, got down off the pedestal and went down to the people who were telling him that the state had not arrived, and he told them that it will.”

Later Sunday, Felipe attended a gathering of the heads of the emergency response in Valencia, along with Sánchez and other politicians. He asked them to give “hope to those affected by the flood and attend to their needs, guaranteeing that the state is there for them.” On Monday, he presided over the government's crisis committee at a military airbase outside Madrid.

But that, Nebrera said, could compound his problems.

In going to Paiporta with elected officials, Nebrera said, Felipe has created the impression that he has a real role to play in managing the gargantuan recovery effort, when his powers are mostly representing Spain on state visits and playing an institutional role in the post-election process.

In other words, it looks like he owns it.

“If there already existed a certain confusion among some people as to what powers the king has, now he runs the danger of people thinking he is responsible for something which he is not,” she said.

“It is very likely that regardless of how many meetings he presides over, there will be nothing but more bad news coming from Valencia. They are only going to find more and more of the dead.”

Spain's King Felipe VI, centre right, speaks with protesters in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, A crowd of angry survivors of Spain's floods have tossed mud and shouted insults at Spain's King Felipe VI and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns. (Biel Alino/EFE via AP)

Spain's King Felipe VI, centre, speaks with protesters in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024. A crowd of angry survivors of Spain's floods have tossed mud and shouted insults at Spain's King Felipe VI and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns. (Biel Alino/EFE via AP)

Spain's King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/David Melero)

Spain's King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/David Melero)

Spain's King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/David Melero)

Spain's Queen Letizia speaks with people affected by the floods after crowd of angry survivors of Spain's floods tossed mud and shouted insults at the Spain's King Felipe and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns. after floods in Paiporta near Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Hugo Torres)

Spain's King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/David Melero)

Spain's King Felipe VI listens to a person affected by the floods after a crowd of angry survivors of Spain's floods tossed mud and shouted insults at the King and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns after floods in Paiporta near Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Hugo Torres)

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)