King Felipe of Spain's sister Infanta Cristina splits from her jailbird husband of 25 years after he was photographed hand-in-hand with another woman last week

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Infanta Cristina of Spain has announced she and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin are splitting up, days after he was caught with another woman. 

The couple shared the news today in a statement to Spain's State News Agency, asking the public to respect their privacy and stating they would always be there to support their four children: Juan, 22, Pablo, 21, Miguel, 19 and Irene, 16. 

The news comes less than a week after disgraced businessman Urdangarin, 54, was pictured holding hands with another woman, allegedly an unnamed co-worker at the Imaz & Asociados law firm, in a photo published by the Spanish magazine Lecturas. 

Urdangarin married Infanta Cristina, the sister of King Felipe VI, in 1997. In 2018, he was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering in excess of £4.5 million through his non-profit organisation, the Noos Institute. 

Last year, he was granted permission to move to the Grade 3 Spanish prison regime, which means he only needs to report to prison once a week.    

King Felipe VI's sister Infanta Cristina of Spain, 54, left, and her husband of 25 years Iñaki Urdangarin, 54, have announced they have split up (pictured together in 2019 in Vitoria) 

In their statement to EFE, the couple asked for 'respect' for a private decision 'to end our marriage relationship by mutual agreement.'

They added that their commitment to their four children remains 'intact', the agency said. 

Last week, pictures of Urdangarin with another woman sent shockwaves down Europe. 

Speaking to the Hello magazine, the former sportsmen said the family would manage the situation with 'the utmost calm and together as always.'

Last week, the Spanish magazine Lecturas shared a picture of Urdangarin holding hands with another woman. But sources told Hola! the snap had not come as a shock for King Felipe VI's sister 

The couple had a fairytale wedding at Barcelona's Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in October 1997, but announced today their love story is over

While the pictures came as a shock to the general public, sources told Hola! that Infanta Cristina was not surprised by the snap and 'already knew' about the relationship - although husband and wife did spend Christmas together.  

Lecturas reported Urdangarin and the woman were photographed in France, while Cristina was in Switzerland with their children. 

Speaking to the local press as he arrived at his workplace in Vitoria last week,  Urdangarin said: 'Things happen and we are going to manage it in the best possible way.

'We will manage [the situation] with the utmost calm and together, as always,' he added. 

Cristina and Urdangarin were stripped of their royal titles in 2015 after he was accused of embezzlement and money laundering through his non-profit organisation the Noos Institute (pictured at a royal event in 2010, before Urdangarin's legal trouble)

The couple said they are both committed to supporting the four children they share. Pictured with their sons Pablo, Miguel and Juan at the funeral of Urdangarin's father in 2012 

Meanwhile, the couple's second child, Pablo, 21, who plays handball for Barcelona FC, said: 'We are all going to love each other the same.' 

Cristina's marriage to Urdangarin has experienced some ups and downs in the past ten years following the investigation into fraud claims that led to his conviction.

In 2011, Urdangarin was accused of diverting public funds through the Nóos institute, and the non-profit organisation was investigated by the Spanish Anticorruption Bureau. 

The couple with their sons Juan, a security officer and their son Miguel during a family outing in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2019 

Urdangarin and Infanta Cristina with their children Pablo, Miguel and Irene (second right) on Christmas Day 2019 

In December 2011, the Anticorruption Bureau confirmed that Urdangarin had been sending substantial sums of public money to accounts in Belize and in the UK.  

He appeared in front of judges twice in early 2012 to discuss these allegations of corruption. 

In June 2016, five years into the investigation, a prosecutor called for Urdangarin to be jailed for 19 years and be fined 980,000 euros. 

He was sentenced to six years and three months in prison and a fine of 512,000euros in February 2017, but appealed the ruling. 

Urdangarin works at the Imaz & Asociados law firm in Vitoria, while Cristina lives in Geneva with their four children, including Miguel, left 

In 2018, the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced him to five years and ten months imprisonment, and he reported to the prison of Brevia in Avila. 

However, in 2020, he was allowed to move to the Grade 3 regime, meaning he regained his freedom of movement an  only has to report to jail one a week.  

In a bid to distance themselves from these corruption claims, the Spanish royal family removed the section dedicated to Iñaki Urdangarin on their website. 

Infanta Cristina was also investigated for corruption, but was acquitted of any charges. 

In 2016, Cristina was questioned by a prosecutor as part of a landmark corruption trial in Palma where her husband was found guilty of corruption

However, her brother King Felipe VI stripped her of her title of Duchess of Palma in 2015. 

Lecturas claimed Felipe and the now disgraced king Juan Carlos insisted that Cristina leave Urdangarin when he faced issues with the law, but she stuck by him, eventually drifting away from her family. 

However, in 2019, the publication claimed that Cristina had consulted a divorce lawyer in a move to end her marriage with Urdangarin, after it was reported he had had an affair with the wife of one of his wedding witnesses.

She remains sixth in line to the throne behind her older sister, Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and her two children.