Spain’s King Felipe VI Revokes Sister’s Royal Title
Spain’s Official Gazette, the country’s federal registry of legislation and government actions, stated Friday she is no longer the Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, a title she received in 1997 at her marriage to Inaki Urdangarin.
Although she was cleared of money laundering charges in 2014, she remains accused of serving as an accessory to tax fraud charges involving her husband’s business activities, which allegedly include embezzlement and no-bid contracting.
Urdangarin was formerly a trusted figure within the Spanish royal family.
De Borbon’s lawyer said Friday she voluntarily renounced her title to avoid more controversy, and told her brother, the king, in a letter. A source at the Royal Palace disputed her version of events, saying, “The renunciation letter arrived by fax yesterday, after the king informed Cristina of his decision to take away her title,” the source said.
The former duchess has been a target of court investigations for over three years, and has refused to surrender her succession rights to the throne, until Friday’s actions.
