The youngest daughter of the Spanish King Juan Carlos, the Princess Cristina, has been summoned by a judge to appear in a courtroom this March.
The Infanta Cristina who is currently 48 years old, has been accused of assisting her husband, the Duke of Palma de Mallorca Inaki Urdangarin, of embezzling money through a firm, Aizoon, set up for the purpose of laundering stolen money.
This is not the first time the Princess has been summoned to court for her husband’s alleged crimes.
In April 2013, the Judge presiding over the previous case had called for Princess Christina to court to question her over the activities of her husband during his time leading the not-for-profit organization at which he was active at from 2004 till 2006.
The Noos Institute, the organization in question, had received vast amounts of the public’s money and then this money was allegedly embezzled by the Duke of Palma.
His properties were seized however he denied any criminal activity and was subsequently not formally charged with embezzlement.
During this instance, the provincial court of Palma de Mallorca had revoked her presence in the court citing insufficient evidence and the Princess was no longer obligated to attend the hearing.
The current case concerns Aizoon, which is suspected to be a front for laundering the money that was embezzled during the period in which Urdangarin headed the Noos Institute.
A Spanish journalist who is closely following the progress of the case, Miguel Murado, said, “Most people will tell you that they felt more relieved than shocked and this includes even people who are sympathetic to the royal family, and this is because we had come to the point at which the issue was no longer whether the princess was guilty of anything but actually whether justice is the same for everybody in Spain.”
The Infanta Cristina is the middle child of King Juan and Queen Sofia.
She has an elder sister the Infanta Elena, and a younger brother, who is the heir to the Spanish throne, Crowne Prince Philippe.
This is the first time any one closely related to the reigning monarch is a formal suspect in a criminal investigation and although the Princess lives in Switzerland, she will be required to appear in court on the 8th of March.
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