Madrid: The sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI, Cristina, will become the first member of the royal family ever to stand in the dock after a judge on Monday ordered her to be put on trial for alleged tax fraud.
The historic decision stemmed from four years of investigations that plunged the royal family into crisis and contributed to the abdication of King Juan Carlos in June. A court on the island of Majorca ordered Cristina, 49, to stand trial on two counts of accessory to tax fraud in connection with her husband’s business affairs, in a written ruling seen by AFP.
She is accused of cooperating in tax evasion by her husband, the former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin. He is accused of embezzling and laundering millions of euros in public funds.
Cristina Federica de Borbon y Grecia is the youngest daughter of Juan Carlos and sixth in line to the throne. She married Urdangarin in 1997 in a glittering ceremony in Barcelona. The case is a big headache for Felipe who took the throne on June 19 promising an “honest and transparent monarchy”.
