Royal Profile: Infanta Cristina of Spain
The Infanta Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbon y Grecia was born 13 June 1965 as the second daughter of King Juan Carlos I & Queen Sofia {Source}.
She has two siblings, a sister-in-law, a former brother-in-law, and three nieces and a nephew{Source}:
Don Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Cadiz (her 1st cousin 1x removed)
Princess Maria Cristina de Borbon y Battenberg (her great aunt)
She attended Colegio Santa María del Camino, receiving her high school leaving certificate in 1984 {Source}. She then studied political science at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, earning a degree in 1989 {Source}. In 1990-1991, she attended New York University, earning a Masters degree in International Relations {Source}.
She has also done much work aboard. In 1991, she interned at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris {Source}.Over the years, the youngest daughter of the former King & Queen of Spain has performed various duties both in Spain and abroad {Source}.
She also serves on a couple of UN committees and holds various honorary appointments. She is honorary president of the Spanish Commission of UNESCO {Source}. In October 2001 she was appointed by the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations to the Second World Assembly on Ageing {Source}.
She is a member of the Board of Trustees Dalí {Source}. She also provides support for various organizations linked to welfare and disabled persons {Source}. She currently chairs the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing, IFDS and is a Director of Social La Caixa Foundation {Source}.
On 4 October 1997, she was married to Don Inaki Urdangarin {Source}. Upon her marriage, her father granted her the title Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, which made her husband the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, and awarding their children the titles of His/Her Excellency Don/Doña for life{Source}. On 11 June 2015, her brother, now the King of Spain issued a royal decree 470/2015 stating: "Royal Decree 470/2015, of June 11, by which the faculty of using the title of Duchess of Palma de Mallorca is revoked from Her Royal Highness Infanta Doña Cristina" {Source}. She was also encouraged to renounce her succession rights, which given her children range in age from 12-17 years old, she would also renounce their succession rights as well, thus shrinking the royal family extensively, leaving her three nieces, her sister and nephew in succession{Source}. With her husband, she has four children{Source}:
She is active in the sport of sailing {Source}. She has participated in numerous national and international competitions for sailing {Source}. She was a member of the 1988 Olympic Games Spanish Sailing team {Source}.
Infanta Cristina has had her share of scandals. Her husband was investigated from early 2012 on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining millions in public funds in the Nóos case. In April 2013, Infanta Cristina was formally named as a suspect in the case by the judge in charge{Source}.In light of the forthcoming trial, she and her children moved to Geneva, Switzerland in Summer 2013.On 7 January 2014, a Spanish judge charged her with tax fraud and money laundering and ordered her to appear in court {Source}. She made her first appearance in a court in Majorca on 8 February 2014, where she denied any knowledge of her husband's dealings{Source}Spanish judge Jose Castro formalized charges against Infanta Cristina on 25 June 2014 resulting in the possibility that she could face trial, with up to 11 years in jail if found guilty{Source}. An appeal was lodged against the decision {Source}. In November 2014, the high court in Palma de Mallorca upheld tax fraud charges against the Infanta, paving the way for her to face trial; however, it decided to drop money-laundering charges. Her lawyers maintain that they are completely convinced of her innocence {Source}.On December 22, 2014, the High Court of the Balearic Islands announced that Infanta Cristina, her husband and 15 others would stand trial on tax fraud charges 'as soon as next year' {Source}. In June 2016, the court proceedings are ongoing, and in March she took the stand in her defense {Source}. In February 2017. she was acquitted as part of tax evasion charges, however, her husband was convicted and sentenced to six years in jail {Source}. The day before her birthday last year, it was announced by the Spanish Supreme Court that her husband lost his appeals, but managed to get his prison sentence reduced by six months {Source}, he began serving his sentence in June 2018 {Source}
She has two siblings, a sister-in-law, a former brother-in-law, and three nieces and a nephew{Source}:
- Infanta Elena (1963)
- Don Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada (1963, m. 1995-2010, div)
- Don Felipe de Marichalar y Borbón (1998)
- Doña Victoria de Marichalar y Borbón (2000)
- King Felipe VI (1968)
- Queen Letizia of Spain (1972)
- Leonor, The Princess of Asturias (2005)
- The Infanta Sofia of Spain (2007)
Don Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Cadiz (her 1st cousin 1x removed)
Princess Maria Cristina de Borbon y Battenberg (her great aunt)
She attended Colegio Santa María del Camino, receiving her high school leaving certificate in 1984 {Source}. She then studied political science at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, earning a degree in 1989 {Source}. In 1990-1991, she attended New York University, earning a Masters degree in International Relations {Source}.
She has also done much work aboard. In 1991, she interned at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris {Source}.Over the years, the youngest daughter of the former King & Queen of Spain has performed various duties both in Spain and abroad {Source}.
She also serves on a couple of UN committees and holds various honorary appointments. She is honorary president of the Spanish Commission of UNESCO {Source}. In October 2001 she was appointed by the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations to the Second World Assembly on Ageing {Source}.
She is a member of the Board of Trustees Dalí {Source}. She also provides support for various organizations linked to welfare and disabled persons {Source}. She currently chairs the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing, IFDS and is a Director of Social La Caixa Foundation {Source}.
On 4 October 1997, she was married to Don Inaki Urdangarin {Source}. Upon her marriage, her father granted her the title Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, which made her husband the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, and awarding their children the titles of His/Her Excellency Don/Doña for life{Source}. On 11 June 2015, her brother, now the King of Spain issued a royal decree 470/2015 stating: "Royal Decree 470/2015, of June 11, by which the faculty of using the title of Duchess of Palma de Mallorca is revoked from Her Royal Highness Infanta Doña Cristina" {Source}. She was also encouraged to renounce her succession rights, which given her children range in age from 12-17 years old, she would also renounce their succession rights as well, thus shrinking the royal family extensively, leaving her three nieces, her sister and nephew in succession{Source}. With her husband, she has four children{Source}:
- Don Juan Valentín de Todos los Santos Urdangarin y de Bourbon (1998)
- Don Pablo Nicholas Urdangarin y de Bourbon (2000)
- Don Miguel Urdangarín y de Bórbon (2002)
- Doña Irene Urdangarín y Bórbon (2005)
She is active in the sport of sailing {Source}. She has participated in numerous national and international competitions for sailing {Source}. She was a member of the 1988 Olympic Games Spanish Sailing team {Source}.
Infanta Cristina has had her share of scandals. Her husband was investigated from early 2012 on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining millions in public funds in the Nóos case. In April 2013, Infanta Cristina was formally named as a suspect in the case by the judge in charge{Source}.In light of the forthcoming trial, she and her children moved to Geneva, Switzerland in Summer 2013.On 7 January 2014, a Spanish judge charged her with tax fraud and money laundering and ordered her to appear in court {Source}. She made her first appearance in a court in Majorca on 8 February 2014, where she denied any knowledge of her husband's dealings{Source}Spanish judge Jose Castro formalized charges against Infanta Cristina on 25 June 2014 resulting in the possibility that she could face trial, with up to 11 years in jail if found guilty{Source}. An appeal was lodged against the decision {Source}. In November 2014, the high court in Palma de Mallorca upheld tax fraud charges against the Infanta, paving the way for her to face trial; however, it decided to drop money-laundering charges. Her lawyers maintain that they are completely convinced of her innocence {Source}.On December 22, 2014, the High Court of the Balearic Islands announced that Infanta Cristina, her husband and 15 others would stand trial on tax fraud charges 'as soon as next year' {Source}. In June 2016, the court proceedings are ongoing, and in March she took the stand in her defense {Source}. In February 2017. she was acquitted as part of tax evasion charges, however, her husband was convicted and sentenced to six years in jail {Source}. The day before her birthday last year, it was announced by the Spanish Supreme Court that her husband lost his appeals, but managed to get his prison sentence reduced by six months {Source}, he began serving his sentence in June 2018 {Source}
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