Princess Cristina de Borbón, the younger sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI, will stand trial on tax-fraud charges starting January 11 next year, a local court has said.
The 50-year-old princess and her husband, 47-year-old Iñaki Urdangarin, were formally charged late last year following a four-year corruption probe, dubbed the Nóos Case, which caused significant damage to the monarchy’s public image.
Princess Cristina, who will be the first Spanish royal ever to be tried, faces up to eight years in jail while Mr. Urdangarin, with a wider array of charges against him, could be sentenced to up to 19 years if found guilty.
King Felipe VI succeeded his father, King Juan Carlos, after he abdicated last year, partly as a response to criticism related to the case and other missteps that led to soaring republican sentiment in the country.
He has managed to rebuild his popularity and make the republican movement lose momentum with a series of steps, including a decision in June to strip Princess Cristina, one of his two sisters, of her title as duchess of Palma de Mallorca.
He had previously removed the princess and her Mr. Urdangarin from the royal family’s official functions. Princess Cristina remains sixth in line for the throne, a right only she can relinquish, and people familiar with the situation say she has often privately stated that she doesn’t intend to do so.
The princess and her husband are alleged to be at the centre of a kickback scheme uncovered after the construction of a stadium in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the wealthy Balearic Islands, off Spain’s east coast.
An investigating judge said he found evidence that the couple had funded a lavish lifestyle by diverting millions of euros in public funds destined for Mr. Urdangarin’s not-for-profit sports consultancy into their real estate and asset-management firm. Princess Cristina and her husband have denied any wrongdoing.
