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| Spanish Princess Cristina to face fraud trial | Spanish Princess Cristina to face fraud trial |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Spanish king's sister, Princess Cristina, is to face a tax fraud trial over alleged links to her husband's business dealings. | The Spanish king's sister, Princess Cristina, is to face a tax fraud trial over alleged links to her husband's business dealings. |
| It is the first time for modern Spain to put a royal in the dock to face trial. | It is the first time for modern Spain to put a royal in the dock to face trial. |
| Her husband Inaki Urdangarin is accused of embezzling millions in public funds with a former business partner. | Her husband Inaki Urdangarin is accused of embezzling millions in public funds with a former business partner. |
| The couple deny wrongdoing. Prosecutors in Palma, Majorca, say Mr Urdangarin's sports foundation misused public money. | The couple deny wrongdoing. Prosecutors in Palma, Majorca, say Mr Urdangarin's sports foundation misused public money. |
| It is alleged that €5.6m (£4.6m; $7.5m) of public money went missing from the Noos Institute, a charitable sports foundation, when Mr Urdangarin was in charge of it. | It is alleged that €5.6m (£4.6m; $7.5m) of public money went missing from the Noos Institute, a charitable sports foundation, when Mr Urdangarin was in charge of it. |
| Princess Cristina, 49, is under suspicion over €2.6m of that money. She is the sister of King Felipe VI, and youngest daughter of the former king, Juan Carlos. | Princess Cristina, 49, is under suspicion over €2.6m of that money. She is the sister of King Felipe VI, and youngest daughter of the former king, Juan Carlos. |
| The allegations relate to business affairs in 2007-2008. The affair has cast a long shadow over the Spanish royal family since the investigation was launched in 2010. | |
| Mr Urdangarin and his then business partner, Diego Torres, allegedly used the Noos Institute to organise events for the regional governments of Valencia and the Balearic Islands at hugely inflated prices. | Mr Urdangarin and his then business partner, Diego Torres, allegedly used the Noos Institute to organise events for the regional governments of Valencia and the Balearic Islands at hugely inflated prices. |
| The princess is expected to sit in the dock with 16 other suspects. With her husband she co-owned a company called Aizoon. | |
| A far-right trade union called Manos Limpias ("Clean Hands") brought a civil action over the affair and wants an eight-year prison sentence for the princess and 26.5 years for her husband. | |
| Princess Cristina is sixth in line to the throne. Her wedding in 1997 to the then Spanish professional handball player Inaki Urdangarin was celebrated in a fairy-tale atmosphere. | |
| But in recent years opposition to the monarchy has grown. Juan Carlos abdicated on 18 June, after months of poor health. | |
| Juan Carlos was widely admired for the way he steered Spain's difficult transition to democracy after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. | |
| But before his abdication Juan Carlos was criticised over controversial hunting trips, at a time when the Noos scandal was regularly making headlines. Republican feelings have also grown in Catalonia's strong pro-independence movement. |