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Spain

What’s next for Infanta Cristina?

Yesterday it was revealed that Infanta Cristina of Spain had been acquitted of corruption charges following a lengthy trial in Palma de Mallorca for corruption and money fraud in the Noos Case, but her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, was found guilty. Cristina will have to pay a €265,088 fine for civil liability, and Iñaki will serve six years and three months in prison.

So, what is next for the King of Spain’s sister? She was in Geneva when the verdict was announced with her family. It is believed she will stay abroad, and just a few months ago, it was revealed by the Spanish media that she had remarked that she wanted the trial over so that she would never have to return to Spain again. The Infanta will, more than likely, never return to royal duties based on her previous comments and being stripped of her title of the Duchess of Palma de Mallorca by King Felipe in 2015. This would make many of the Spanish people happy with many, not surprisingly, having an unfavourable view of the Infanta and not wanting their tax dollars to go toward her and her engagements. Some streets in Spain named after Cristina have changed their name because authorities don’t want roads named after her due to the scandal. The Infanta has already not been attending family functions due to the scandal. However, it is not believed she will have  her title of “Infanta” or her place in the line of succession revoked unless she renounces them herself in the future.

The Noos Case was blamed, in part, for King Juan Carlos abdicating in favour of Felipe in June 2014. The popularity of the Spanish Monarchy took a hit as a result of the corruption case, as well. Spanish newspaper, El País reported that by 2013, the approval rating of the monarchy was at 3.68 out of 10. It remains to be seen if the announcement of the verdict causes their popularity, which has slightly recovered, to take a nose dive again.

After the verdict had been read, El Pais reported that Iñaki’s attorney said he has a strategy in place to appeal to the Supreme Court on Iñaki’s sentence, which could delay his going to jail for up to a year. However, a few hours later the same paper revealed that prosecutor, Pedro Horrach will propose that Iñaki and his business partner, Diego Torres, go to prison immediately. We will keep you updated on this as news becomes available. Not surprisingly, the couple’s lawyer, Mario Pascual Vives, has said that Cristina still believes that her husband is innocent of the charges even though he was found guilty and thinks his sentencing was unfair.

There have also been reports that she is looking to move to Lisbon, Portugal, with Iñaki hoping to go to prison in Extremadura, which is the closest Spanish region to Portugal. Spanish media also says that it is possible that Cristina and Iñaki’s children would be sent to the United States to allow more privacy for them. The couple has four children: Juan (b. 1999), Pablo (b. 2000), Miguel (b. 2002), and Irene (b. 2005).

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.