Flechazo, Corruption and Prison: The story of Iñaki Urdangarin and the Infanta Cristina

The photos of Iñaki Urdangarin with Ainhoa Armentia that he published exclusively readings on Wednesday have revolutionized the pink press and part of Spanish society, who saw the marriage between the former handball player and the infanta Cristina indissoluble.

In fact, with the exit of Urdangarin from the prison after being convicted of corruption, the voices that assured that the couple returned to live a kind of honeymoon again.Nothing is further from reality.The former Palmaduques have announced Monday in a statement sent to Efe who have decided to "interrupt their marriage relationship."

The fable of the perfect son -in -law and the king's daughter has been nothing more than that, a fable that has ended stained by the abuse of power, corruption, repudiation by Felipe VI and an increasingly deteriorated image.But there was a time when everything looked pink.

The crush

Iñaki and Cristina met in 1996, after the athlete achieved the bronze medal with the Spanish handball team at the Atlanta Olympic Games.Numerous sources have revealed over the years that the Infanta was inlet as soon as he saw him, but the meeting did not fruit until they met at a party to celebrate the medal in Barcelona, in the restaurant of which Urdangarin owned.

It was she who asked for the phone of "that blond" and the rest is history.He left his girlfriend until then and his courtship was formalized.In May 1997, the Royal House announced the couple's commitment and the kings declared to be "delighted" with Urdangarin, which became the favorite son -in -law to the detriment of Jaime de Marichalar.Five months later, on October 4, the Infanta and the athlete married in the Barcelona cathedral surrounded by the flower and cream of high society and European monarchies.

The perfect family

The Urdangarin de Borbón settled their lives in Barcelona, and their four children were born: Juan, Pablo, Miguel and Irene.All high, blond and handsome, a postcard family.In summer, marriage and its offspring traveled to Mallorca with the rest of the royal family and also passed part of their vacations in the French Basque Country.

There are 3 is showing His sister how to change fuses in hubs car.Hubs is Thrilled His Car Charger Works Again and It Cost Him Zero Dollars.

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It was usual to see them ski in the winter months and marriage constantly went to galas, postín events and relevant appointments with the royal houses throughout Europe.

Palace and moving

To continue with its luxurious train of life, the Infanta and Urdangarin, which had left the sport and founded the Nóos Institute, bought in 2004 a villa in Pedralbes for almost six million euros that became a symbol of the boom and fall of marriage.The couple spent another three million euros to reform the palace, in the most expensive area of Barcelona and near the French Lyceum and the tennis club that their children went.

In view of what was yet to come before the Nóos case, the Urdangarin de Borbón left the Catalan capital and moved to Washington, but could not stop the tsunami that arrived in 2011 with the revelations of the corruption scandal.

Repudiation, corruption and jail

After months of leaks derived from the Palma Arena case, Urdangarin is charged in December 2011 and the scorn begins.Casa Real is forced to separate it and the reputation of the institution falls.To get the storm, the marriage moves to Geneva with his children, believing that they can escape the media pressure, but the image of Juan Carlos I regularly entering the courts of Palma does not go unnoticed.

The situation is further aggravated when the Infanta is charged in 2014, the same year as his brother Felipe VI rises to the throne and separates it from the royal family.In addition, a year later, she withdraws the palm duchy.

The Infanta declares for hours before the judge but refuses to answer most questions or answer "I don't know" or "I don't remember."The only thing that was clear is her total confidence in her husband.When the sentence that sent Urdagarin to Prison arrived in 2018, Juan Carlos and Sofia's daughter, acquitted, continued to play the role of wife delivered with the former handball player, who entered the prison of Brieva (Ávila).

"Things that happen"

After getting the third degree in March last year, Urdangarin moved to Vitoria and since then resides in his mother's house, Claire Liabaert, although he has to follow a series of protocols such as participating in reintegration courses in the Zaballa prisonAnd sign once a week, although you can do it by phone.

That change in Urdangarin's life made many thought he and infant would take advantage of the lost time.Although Felipe VI's sister continues to live in Switzerland with her daughter Irene, she moved several weekends to Vitoria to spend time with which she is still her husband.

Last summer they left family prints on the beaches of Bidart, where Urdangarin has been caught with Armentia, and they have also spent Christmas together, on horseback between Vitoria and Baqueira.The return of the family to the ski resort was for many experts at the Royal House, with the information they now have in hand, a way of making their children see that the family will remain united.In the statement in which they announce their separation, Urdangarin and the Infanta clarify that the commitment to their children "remains intact."

Iñaki Urdangarin's first family walk in his prison permit

Uxía Prieto

Journalist at the HuffPost