Five words – “Why don’t you shut up!” – have catapulted King Juan Carlos, the Spanish monarch, to internet stardom, and driven Spain’s relations with Latin America to a new low.

The king’s outburst was directed against Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, at a summit of Latin American and Iberian leaders in Chile last weekend. In his concluding remarks, Mr Chávez called José María Aznar, Spain’s former prime minister, a “fascist”. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s current prime minister, interrupted Mr Chávez to demand “respect for a man who was elected by the people of Spain”, but Mr Chávez ignored him and continued insulting Mr Aznar.