Infanta Cristina of Spain

Infanta Cristina (Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y de Grecia, born 13 June 1965) is the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I and his wife, Queen Sofía.

She is sixth in the line of succession to the Spanish throne, after her brother King Felipe VI's children, her sister Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and Elena's children.

Cristina de Borbón was born on 13 June 1965 at Our Lady of Loreto Hospital, now known as ORPEA Madrid Loreto in Madrid and was baptized into the Church at the Palacio de La Zarzuela by the Archbishop of Madrid.

Her godparents were Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz (her first cousin once removed), and Infanta Maria Cristina (great-aunt).

One of the first official events she attended was the proclamation of her father in November 1975.

Since finishing her most basic education in 1983, Cristina, along with her sister Elena, supported their parents representing the Crown at official events such as the National Day, the wedding of Princess Astrid of Belgium, the re-burial of Queen Victoria Eugenia at El Escorial, and the state visit of Mexican president Miguel de la Madrid to Spain, among others.

She is a sailor, and competed in the Tornado event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

She received her secondary education at Santa María del Camino School before graduating from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1989 with a degree in political science.

She pursued postgraduate studies at New York University, obtaining an MA in international relations in 1990.

In 1991, she gained practical experience working at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Regarding her personal work, Cristina has been working for La Caixa Foundation since October 1993.

At the same time, she works for the Aga Khan Foundation.

On 26 September 1997, on the occasion of her marriage to handball player Iñaki Urdangarin, she was created Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, by her father, King Juan Carlos.

Cristina married team handball player Iñaki Urdangarin at Barcelona Cathedral on 4 October 1997.

On this occasion, she was created Duchess of Palma de Mallorca for life.

The couple have four children, all born at Teknon Medical Centre in Barcelona:

In 2001, she was named United Nations goodwill ambassador United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the 2nd World Assembly on Aging.

She speaks Spanish, Catalan, English, French, and Greek.

They lived in Washington, D.C., from 2009 to 2012, where her husband worked for Telefónica.

Since October 2011, she has remained apart from the royal family and any official act of the Crown and, since 2014, she is no longer a member of the royal family.

After the corruption scandal of her husband, the Duchess and her husband distanced from the royal family, being their last official event as members of the royal family on 12 October 2011.

Her husband was investigated from early 2012 on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining millions in public funds in the Nóos case.

From 2013 to 2017, she was investigated for possible corruption involving a company owned by Cristina and her husband.

In August 2013, she moved with her four children to Geneva, Switzerland, to take a job with the Caixa Foundation, while her husband, who was the subject of an embezzlement investigation, remained in Barcelona.

On 24 January 2022, Cristina and Urdangarin announced their separation.

The couple divorced in December 2023.

Cristina started to attend official events at very young age.

She visits Barcelona often for work, but she has lived in Geneva, Switzerland since 2013.

In April 2013, Infanta Cristina was formally named as a suspect in the case by the judge in charge.

When invited to comment, a Royal Household spokesman said that the Casa Real "does not comment on judicial decisions", yet the next day, after the anti-corruption prosecutor announced that he would appeal the decision, it relented by expressing "absolute conformity" with the legal authorities.

In light of the forthcoming trial, she and her children moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in summer 2013.

After the ascension of her brother in June 2014, she formally left the royal family.

On 7 January 2014, a Spanish judge charged her with tax fraud and money laundering and ordered her to appear in court.

The infanta made her first appearance in the Majorca Court on 8 February 2014, where she denied any knowledge of her husband's dealings.

Spanish judge Jose Castro formalised charges against Infanta Cristina on 25 June 2014.

In November 2014 the High Court of Palma de Mallorca upheld tax fraud charges against the princess, paving the way for her to face trial; however, it decided to drop money-laundering charges.

Her lawyers maintained that they remained completely convinced of her innocence.

In 2015, her brother stripped her of her royal dukedom.

In 2017 she was acquitted of all charges.

Elena represented the Crown during the reign of her father.