Spanish royals in turmoil as King’s brother-in-law admits to affair

Royal family in turmoil after King’s brother-in-law’s affair with colleague at company he is doing community service as part of corruption sentence.

Inaki Urdangarin, has been married to Princess Cristina, the younger of the king’s two sisters, since 1997. Picture: AFP

The embattled Spanish royal family has been hit by another scandal after it emerged that the brother-in-law of King Felipe had an affair with a colleague at a company where he is doing community service as part of a corruption sentence.

Inaki Urdangarin, 54, has been married to Princess Cristina, 56, the younger of the king’s two sisters, since 1997. He was photographed walking on a beach in southern France holding hands with Ainhoa Armentia, 43, an accounting analyst who is thought to be separating from her husband.

Urdangarin, who played handball for Spain, confirmed the affair when questioned by journalists as he arrived to work at a law firm in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Basque capital in Spain, where he is serving part of his corruption sentence and where he apparently met Armentia.

Princess Cristina and Inaki Urdangarin on their wedding in Barcelona, in 1997. Picture: AP

“These things happen,” he said. “It is a difficulty that we will manage with the utmost tranquillity and together as we have always done.”

The affair has further tarnished the Spanish crown. Juan Carlos, the former king and Felipe’s father, was forced into exile in Abu Dhabi in the summer of 2020 after a barrage of multimillion-euro corruption allegations.

The three Spanish investigations into the former king’s financial affairs are due to be shelved in the coming months. A Swiss investigation linked to them has already been closed. In Spain prosecutors have not been able to look at his activities during his reign because he had immunity as king.

King Felipe VI of Spain, right, with his father, former King Juan Carlos I, in Palma de Mallorca. Picture: AFP

Pedro Sanchez, the Socialist prime minister, has repeated, however, that Juan Carlos, who ruled from 1975 to 2014, must “give explanations” to his compatriots about his conduct before he can return.

His abdication was prompted in part by a corruption investigation into Urdangarin’s financial affairs. In 2017 Urdangarin was sentenced to serve nearly six years in jail for crimes including tax fraud and embezzlement. He was found guilty of using royal connections to overcharge regional governments through public contracts to stage sports and tourist events.

Cristina was acquitted of being an accessory to tax fraud after a year-long trial. When Felipe, 53, came to the throne he aimed to restore the crown’s reputation. He set about trying to fireproof it from any fallout from the investigation into Urdangarin.

He stripped the couple of their ducal title and withdrew royal duties from Cristina and his other sister, Princess Elena, 58. The latest scandal involving Urdangarin has hardened monarchist sentiment against a marriage that many believed should never have taken place on the grounds of his unsuitability.

Ramon Perez-Maura, an aristocrat and opinion editor of El Debate, a conservative online Catholic newspaper, said: “This consort created multiple problems for his wife and the entire Spanish royal family and ended up with a prison sentence. But she never left her husband. How much easier it would have been for everyone if she had separated from Urdangarin.

“Cristina has given everything for her husband but, as in so many other marriages, that has not been enough and everything seems to indicate that the marriage crisis is serious.

“She will now reflect on what she did for him and how her support for her husband could harm the crown, that is, harm Spain - the last thing a member of the royal family wants to do.”

The relationship of the royal couple, who appeared happy together with their four children at a Spanish ski resort during the Christmas holiday, was reported to have been under strain for some time. Some reports suggested that Urdangarin had already told his wife about the affair.

The Times