King of Spain removed the title of Duchess to her sister – swissinfo.ch

The King Philip IV of Spain, particularly since it was proclaimed a year ago to clean up the tarnished image of the monarchy, decided to revoke the title of Duchess that her father had given her sister Cristina, accused in a corruption scandal.

only son of Juan Carlos I, Felipe VI, 47, came to the throne on June 19, 2014 Crown promising “honest and transparent behavior” after his father abdicated in his moment low popularity by the accumulation of scandals, led by Cristina regards the second of his two daughters.

A year later, the new monarch gives deciding strip surprise his sister peerage his father had granted in 1997 to coincide with her wedding exmedallista Olympic handball Iñaki Urdangarin.

“The Official Gazette published tomorrow a Royal Decree by which His Majesty King revokes use title of Duchess of Palma de Mallorca in favor of Her Royal Highness Princess Cristina “, said Thursday night the palace in a brief statement.

The Infanta, 49, sixth line succession to the throne of Spain, is accused of tax offenses in connection with the affairs of her husband and must sit on the dock at a date yet to be determined.

Urdangarin, 47, is suspected Having used his position in the royal family for contracts of two regional governments through a nonprofit entity, the Noos Institute, which he presided.

The amounts concerned amounted to 6.1 million euros (6.6 million).

The investigating judge, Jose Castro, Cristina suspected cooperate “actively” with Urdangarin using for personal purposes a part of the allegedly embezzled money through a front company, Aizoon, owned by both equally.

After four years of instruction that helped sink the image of the Spanish monarchy and the abdication of Juan Carlos I, the magistrate had ordered the December 22 processing sister of Felipe VI. Something unheard of in the Spanish monarchy and a blow to its image

-. Improving the image –

Health Problems recurrent, information about a relationship with a German aristocrat elegant Danish origin much younger than him, an expensive trip to Botswana to hunt elephants in April 2012 when the Spaniards lived the hardest time of the crisis: the scandal put paid to the good image that Juan Carlos I had as architect of the democracy in Spain after the end of Franco’s dictatorship (1939-1975).

But undoubtedly the most crucial was the “Noos case ‘.

” I do not know “,” I do not remember “,” I do not know “,” did not know “,” I am not aware, “were the answers that gave the judge Infanta Cristina Castro during an interrogation of more than five hours prior to processing in February 2014.

The king’s sister alleges that fully trusted her husband, was not involved in their business and simply sign what he asked.

This has not stopped yet your brother and wife, the queen Letizia, to distance themselves further from it since coming to the throne.

In just one year, Philip VI has also given a new style to the Crown ordered an audit . of the accounts of the royal family, he approached new sectors of Spanish society and attending dozens of meetings and official travel

and achieved a small improvement in the image of the monarchy: 4.34 points over 10 in a state poll April Sociological Research Centre, against 3.72 at the time of the abdication of Juan Carlos I.

But it has yet to overcome the barrier of the five points above which was the Spanish crown in 2010 and is far from the 7 was in the mid-1990s.

Perhaps deprive his sister of her title before help trial.