Infanta Cristina of Spain has announced she and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin are splitting up, days after he was caught with another woman.
The couple shared the news today in a statement to Spain’s State News Agency, asking the public to respect their privacy and stating they would always be there to support their four children: Juan, 22, Pablo, 21, Miguel, 19 and Irene, 16.
The news comes less than a week after disgraced businessman Urdangarin, 54, was pictured holding hands with another woman, allegedly an unnamed co-worker at the Imaz & Asociados law firm, in a photo published by the Spanish magazine Lecturas.
Urdangarin was married to Infanta Cristina in 1997, the sister King Felipe VI. In 2018, he was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering in excess of £4.5 million through his non-profit organisation, the Noos Institute.
He was allowed to transfer to Grade 3 Spanish prison last year. This means that he will only need to report once per week to prison.
King Felipe VI’s sister Infanta Cristina of Spain, 54, left, and her husband of 25 years Iñaki Urdangarin, 54, have announced they have split up (pictured together in 2019 in Vitoria)
EFE was informed that the couple requested respect for their private decision to ‘end our marriage by mutual consent’.
The agency stated that they added their ongoing commitment to their children was intact.
Images of Urdangarin with another female sent shockwaves through Europe last week.
The former sportsmen spoke to Hello magazine and said that the family will manage this situation with the same calm as ever.
Lecturas, a Spanish magazine published a photo of Urdangarin with another woman last week. Hola! was told by sources. The snap was not shocking for King Felipe VI’s sister
The couple had a fairytale wedding at Barcelona’s Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in October 1997, but announced today their love story is over
Although the images shocked many people, Hola! was told by sources. Infanta Cristina didn’t seem surprised by the photo and was ‘already aware’ of the couple’s relationship. However, the husband and wife spent Christmas together.
Lecturas said Urdangarin was photographed with the woman in France and Cristina in Switzerland.
Speaking to the local press as he arrived at his workplace in Vitoria last week, Urdangarin said: ‘Things happen and we are going to manage it in the best possible way.
“We will manage” [the situation]With the greatest calm and together, like always,” he said.
Cristina and Urdangarin had their royal titles stripped in 2015. He was accused of embezzlement through his nonprofit organization the Noos Institute and laundering money. This photo is from a 2010 royal event, before Urdangarin got into trouble.
Both the couple stated that they have a shared commitment to support their children. Photo of Juan, Pablo and Miguel with Urdangarin’s father.
Pablo, 21, a handball player for Barcelona FC and the second child of the couple, stated that they were all going to be able to love one another the same.
Cristina’s marriage to Urdangarin has experienced some ups and downs in the past ten years following the investigation into fraud claims that led to his conviction.
In 2011, Urdangarin was accused of diverting public funds through the Nóos institute, and the non-profit organisation was investigated by the Spanish Anticorruption Bureau.
They were accompanied by their sons Juan, who is a security guard, and Miguel when they went on a family trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz for 2019.
Urdangarin, Infanta Cristina and their children Pablo (second right), on Christmas Day 2019.
The Anticorruption Bureau revealed that Urdangarin sent large amounts of money from the UK to Belize in December 2011.
These allegations of corruption were discussed by him before the judges twice.
Five years after the start of the investigation, Urdangarin was remanded to prison for 19 years with a 980,000 euro fine.
He received a sentence of six years and three month imprisonment, along with a fine amounting to 512,000 euros in February 2017. However, he appealed.
Urdangarin works at the Imaz & Asociados law firm in Vitoria, while Cristina lives in Geneva with their four children, including Miguel, left
The Spanish Supreme Court sent him to prison for five years and ten month in 2018 and he was reported to Brevia de Avila.
However, in 2020, he was allowed to move to the Grade 3 regime, meaning he regained his freedom of movement an only has to report to jail one a week.
In a bid to distance themselves from these corruption claims, the Spanish royal family removed the section dedicated to Iñaki Urdangarin on their website.
Infanta Cristina was also under investigation for corruption but she was cleared of all charges.
Cristina was interrogated in 2016, as part of a historic corruption trial in Palma, where her husband was convicted of corruption.
Her title as Duchess de Palma was taken by King Felipe VI in 2015.
Felipe was claimed by Lecturas. Juan Carlos the former disgraced monarch insisted Cristina quit Urdangarin after he had issues with the law. Cristina refused to leave Urdangarin, and she eventually moved away from her family.
The publication stated that Cristina had spoken to a divorce lawyer after Urdangarin’s affair was revealed.
Her older sister Infanta Elena Duchess de Lugo and her children are still her closest relatives to the throne.