King of Spain revokes title of younger sister amid fraud case

King Felipe VI of Spain has revoked the Infanta Cristiana's right to use her title as the Duchess of Palma Mallorca, the Spanish Royal Household has confirmed.

Although no reason was given for the decision, which was passed by Royal Decree shortly and announced shortly before midnight on Thursday, it comes just over two years after Cristina, who is the King's younger sister was indicted for her role in the Noos Corruption case in which she, her husband Inaki Urdangarin and their partners face charges of fraud and money laundering.

The Noos Foundation, supposedly a non-profit organization, of which Cristiana was a director, who signed all of the documents, is thought to have swindled around six million euros (6.6 million U.S. dollars) through a mixture of fraudulent contracts and overcharging for services.

With Cristiana and her Urdangerin due to face trial in Palma later this year, this decision is seen as a way for Felipe, who succeeded his father Juan Carlos just over a year ago, to distance himself from his sister.

The Spanish press reports that Felipe only told his sister of the decision to revoke her title a matter of minutes before the decision came into effect.

Cristiana and her husband had been given the title of the Dukes of Palma by Juan Carlos in 1997 during the government of Jose Maria Aznar, although she has got carried out any official activity as a member of the Royal family since the end of 2011. Endit