Inside Princess Cristina of Spain’s turbulent life, from divorcing Iñaki Urdangarin and those legal controversies, to losing her duchess title and her lavish 1990s wedding

Feb 8 , 2022

Princess Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin have announced their divorce. Photo: @vaninaswchindt/Twitter

Infanta Cristina married former Olympic handball player Urdangarin during a lavish ceremony in Barcelona in 1997, but the relationship has not been a fairy tale since

A divorce announcement, confirmed after Spanish tabloids published photos of Urdangarin with another woman, is the latest shock for the former Duchess of Palma

Princess Cristina of Spain, also known as Infanta Cristina of Spain, can’t seem to catch a break. After a series of tax fraud incidents involving her husband Iñaki Urdangarin that resulted in him getting sentenced to six years and three months in prison, the royal recently announced their separation after he was photographed with another woman.

The two were married for nearly 24 years and were once known as media darlings in Spain.

Princess Cristina of Spain and Iñaki Urdangarin leave Barcelona’s Cathedral of Saint Eulalia after their wedding in October 1997. Photo: AFP

“By mutual agreement we have decided to break off our marriage. Our commitment to our children remains intact. Since this is a private decision, we ask the utmost respect of all those around us,” as the two jointly announced in a statement, according to The Times.

While Princess Cristina is distancing herself from the separation news, here we take a look back at her roller coaster life that has seen embezzlement, divorce and becoming a royal outcast.

Her ex-husband’s embezzlement case

Spain’s Princess Cristina and her now-ex-husband, former Olympic handball player Iñaki Urdangarin, leave after a courtroom hearing in Palma de Mallorca in 2016. Photo: AFP

In 2018, Urdangarin, an Olympic handball bronze medallist, was found guilty of tax fraud, embezzlement and influence peddling for money laundering over six million euros (US$7.06 million) siphoned through his non-profit organisation, the Noos Institute in Majorca.

According to his case’s prosecutor, Urdangarin used his family ties with the royal family to score sports-related public contracts, overcharged for events, and hid the money abroad between the years 2004 and 2006.

Infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin were once media darlings in Spain. Photo: @vaninaswchindt/Twitter

However, last June, he was put on day release that allowed him to leave the prison and work as a consultant in an accounting firm.

The highly controversial case split the Spanish royal family and was believed to be one of the reasons behind King Juan Carlos’ abdication in 2014.