<br>This is the moment a bullfighter throws his hat to the former king of Spain after dedicating his kill to him - before plunging his sword into the animal.
King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 and was replaced by son Felipe, was thrown the matador's cap as he watched proceedings at the 'San Isidro' Fair at Las Ventas Bullring in Madrid.
The 79-year-old, who once described the blood sport as a 'Spanish asset that we have to support', could be seen reaching down to grab the hat.
Matador El Fandi - considered one of the most skilled bullfighters in the world - leaps as he prepares to lance an exhausted and already badly injured bull with a banderilla - a wooden stick, about two feet long, with a metal barb at one end
Bullfighting supporter King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 and was replaced by son Felipe, reaches down to grab the hat of a matador who dedicated his bull to the monarch
Bullfighter Miguel Angel Perera prepares to thrust a knife into another bewildered and bleeding animal during the Madrid 'San Isidro' festival
Moments later, the matador who dedicated his killing to the king plunged his sword into a bull.
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Two years ago, the monarch was spotted at another festival in San Sebastian where he told reports it was 'thrilling' to share the experience with his daughter and grandchildren 'who have always supported the national fiesta'.
It comes just days after thousands of protesters took to the streets of central Madrid calling for bullfighting to be banned in the country that invented it.
Bullfighting great El Fandi kneels down as he torments an injured bull during a performance at Las Ventas. Former King Juan Carlos attended the event
El Fandi raises his hands as h ecelebrates with the huge crowds who paid to see him slaughter a bull
Former King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 citing personal reasons, believes the savage blood sport is a 'Spanish asset that we have to support'
Royalty: Spain's Princess Elena (left) was also in the crowd for the 'San Isidro' Bullfight Fair
'We are fighting to end the corridas and any spectacle organised in Spain which mistreats animals for people's amusement,' 48-year-old lawyer Sandra Barrena, one of the protesters, told AFP.
'Torture is not culture,' chanted the marchers, who also called for the end of all grants to bullfighting events.
In 2010, the Catalan government voted to ban deadly bullfighting in the northeast region but last year Spain's top court overturned that decision, judging that it was part of Spain's cultural heritage.
The bullfighting tradition has drawn increasing controversy and protests around Spain in recent years, with demonstrators turning up and taking to Twitter to denounce what they feel is a brutal, anachronistic event.
Saturday's protest followed a similar one in Madrid last September.
On the run: A bull chases a bullfighter during one of the performances at the San Isidro fair in Madrid, Spain,
A baying crowd watches on in Madrid as Spanish bullfighter 'Perera' prepares to butcher another heavily bleeding animal
Author Manolo Moles was also in the stands to watch the savage spectacle yesterday
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