King Juan Carlos' giggling ring tone

Spain's King Juan Carlos stunned ambassadors at a meeting with his unusual ring tone.

The 73-year-old monarch brought the lavish ceremony at his palace in Madrid to a halt when his phone rang with the tone of a giggling baby.

The assembled ambassadors from several south and central American nations froze as the noise echoed around the room and then realised it was coming from a cell phone.

After a few seconds, the king ran towards a drawer in a sideboard where he grabbed his phone and put it on silent.

He then apologised and carried on with the meet and greet as though nothing had happened, according to Spain's El Pais newspaper.

While the palace has not revealed why the king has chosen such an unusual ring tone, the monarch and his wife Queen Sofia have eight grandchildren.

The youngest include Crown Prince Philip and Princess Letizia's daughters Leonor, five, and Sofia, three, as well as Princess Cristina's five-year-old daughter Irene Urdangarin.

It comes three years after the king's own voice became a ring tone hit.

A recording of the monarch famously snapping at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "Why don't you shut up?" at a 2007 summit became one of Spain's most popular mobile phone ring tones.