Spain's King Juan Carlos apologized Wednesday for spending an expensive safari to hunt elephant in Africa while Spaniards are struggling through an economic crisis, according to CBS News.
King Carlos, 74, spoke to flashing lights and TV cameras as he left a Madrid hospital "looking sheepish and using crutches to walk," according to CBS News. He had just finished a surgery for his broken hip from the hunting trip, CBS News said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the king is required by law to report his Africa trip, "but it's unclear whether he did that." He told the scrum of reporters that he "made a mistake and it won't happen again," the Los Angeles Times said.
A royal official denied that the king left for Africa without informing the government, according to CBS News. The official said King Carlos had told the prime minister about his trip in a routine weekly meeting on April 2, CBS News said.
King Carlos' trip have upset many Spaniards who are already angry about the king who "remind [them] that all the people in Spain need to make efforts and sacrifices [in the economic crisis]," according to the Los Angeles Times.
King Carlos is also the honorary president of the World Wildlife Fund in Spain, according to the Los Angeles Times. The group had received hundreds of complaints regarding his hunting trip, the Los Angeles Times said.
