Spain's Princess Cristina went on trial Monday in a landmark criminal case, accused of helping bankroll a lavish lifestyle with funds her husband received from an alleged scheme to embezzle millions from public contracts for conferences and sporting events.
Cristina and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, said nothing during the proceedings as their lawyers and attorneys for 16 additional defendants argued why their clients should be excluded from the proceedings with charges dropped.
The 50-year-old Cristina, the sister of King Felipe VI, faces two counts of tax fraud, carrying a maximum prison sentence of eight years, for allegedly failing to declare taxes on personal expenses paid by a real estate company she owned with Urdangarin, an Olympic handball medalist turned businessman.
