The bullfighter boyfriend of a Spanish royal was rushed to hospital with serious injuries during a tournament to mark Hispanic Day.
Young matador Gonzalo Caballero was gored twice in the thigh and groin during the tournament in the bullring of Las Ventas in Madrid.
The 27-year-old is the boyfriend of 19-year-old Victoria Federica, niece of the King of Spain, who watched the horror unfold from the VIP area.
The bullfighter was approaching the end of his fight and had just pierced the bull with a traditional "sword" when it charged and attacked him.
He was struck in the leg and tossed in the air before being struck again in his groin by the bull, with the second attack cutting his femoral vein.
The wounds are 25 and 30 centimetres deep.
He was carried out of the ring by bullring staff as he tried to stem the bleeding himself, and left a trail of blood in the sand.
He was operated in the bullring infirmary for more than two hours and then transferred to the San Francisco de Asis hospital in Madrid where the latest bulletin confirmed he was "gravely ill" and his condition remains "very serious".
The crowd demanded that despite not finishing the fight, Caballero should be "rewarded" with the traditional severed ear of the bull and this was done by another matador.
The ear, it is reported, was delivered to him whilst he was still in the bullring infirmary.
