KING Felipe's sister, the Infanta Cristina and her children may move to Portugal from their current home in Geneva, Switzerland, to be near her husband Iñaki Urdangarín once he goes to jail, if – as has been suggested – he is held in the prison in Badajoz, Extremadura.
Although a lenient sentence for a €6.1 million public fund embezzlement case and multi-million tax fraud, the six-and-a-quarter years Urdangarín has to serve has come as a bitter blow to his wife and young family.
But depending upon the crime, offenders are sometimes allowed to choose which prison they go to, and it is rumoured Urdangarín may opt for the one in Badajoz – within minutes by car of the Portuguese border – or Zaballa, in the Basque Country.
The latter would mean Urdangarín is nearer to his family of origin, and the Infanta Cristina and the couple's children would then move to the nearest provincial capital, Vitoria, to be as near to him as possible.
And the former would be an option because it is reputed to be a 'soft' prison, home to criminals held for financial fraud rather than violent crimes, and instead of hard labour, Urdangarín would spend his days mopping the corridors and sweeping the patio.
If this happens, the Infanta and their children are considering moving to Lisbon.
Cristina, formerly the Duchess of Palma but stripped of her title by her own brother, the King, has worked for the arts and humanitarian wing of La Caixa bank for over 25 years – a job that has taken her to several countries, including a spell in Miami, Florida and, more recently, Geneva.
It is likely to be relatively straightforward for her to find a role within the department in the Basque Country or the Portuguese capital, given her longevity with the firm and her status as a key employee.
Cristina and the children – Juan, Pablo, Miguel and Irene – may even move to Estoril, further north along the Portuguese coast and equally as close to Badajoz, which would be an ironic twist of events: Estoril was the old refuge of the royal Borbón family when they were in exile due to war and political turbulence.
After Franco's victory, the son of King Alfonso XIII – Juan – chose Estoril upon his father's death as a bolthole and hideout to enable him to follow as closely as possible what was happening in Spain without being in the firing line.
He moved there in around 1946, and was followed later by other Royal dynasties including the houses of Orléans, Savoy and Bulgaria.
In fact, King Juan Carlos I of Spain – who abdicated in 2015 in favour of his son, now King Felipe VI – grew up in Estoril, meaning the town has a long family history and would feel a little like home already to the Infanta Cristina and the children.
