Are the winds of change blowing in Spain?

This article offers a study of the cartoon coverage of King Juan Carlos I of Spain's accident during an elephant-hunting safari in Botswana, which enjoyed major coverage in the media. Using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, the article addresses two questions. First, did the cartoons about the king's safari articulate and help to spread a conservationist message or did they redirect public opinion towards other issues considered to be more important for Spanish society? Second, is it possible to detect a change in cartoonists' attitudes towards the Spanish monarchy from the analysis of these cartoons? The article demonstrates that cartoons can illustrate—better than other narrative texts—changing attitudes towards the monarchy in Spanish society.An Appendix to this paper that lists all of the cartoons studied is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2013.805014.