Spanish king strips his sister Cristina de Borbon of title

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Felipe has stripped his sister Cristina of her title (Duchess of Palma de Mallorca) ahead of her fraud trial.  She is still referred to as Her Royal Highness.  Presumably the duchess title has nothing to do with her right to succession, which she would have gained as a result of being a princess.

I don't travel in royal circles so can somebody explain why the king has taken what is a secondary title, surely, away from her?

[Janet]

because it's discretionary, whereas princess is birthright status.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

But why bother?  She has not been convicted yet.  That's the part I don't get.

[Janet]

what's interesting is that there's now a row over whether the king stripped her of the title or she renounced it. She is saying she renounced it, but the palace is saying yes, but only after the king rang her to say it was being removed ... whether she was invited to renounce or told straight that it was being removed I don't know.

Why is the palace refuting her claim. She's obviously only trying to save face, but they're not letting her. That can't be malice, so there must be a reason, and I think that is because the removal of the title is a specific attempt to demonstrate publicly the monarchy's disapproval. If she renounces it, that purpose is undone, so the palace has to insist that they can actually prove he said he was removing her title.

That just means it's a political exercise, the monarchy trying to clean itself up, at least its public image.

[Guanche]

According to the wife she isn't a Princess. Her title is 'Infanta' now what the diffrence is I have no idea

[Janet]

I think it's just a technical terminological difference. Infante/Infanta is the title for a Spanish monarch's children, where Prince or Princess is reserved for the first in line direct heir to the throne. In that way, in the UK, only Charles would be a prince, and Anne, Andrew and Edward would be Infantes/as. Otherwise they are identically meant, and good Spanish-English dictionaries give "prince/princess" as the translation for Infante/Infanta.

[Guanche]

So the only true' Spanish' princess is the first born of the present King all others are Infanta. The wife seems to think that any male who is not directly in line to the throne (Prince) is given a title Duke or Lord or something......

[Janet]

it's whichever child, male or female, is first in line to the throne, yes. So there was no princess in the current lot, just Felipe, who was Prince. Anyone else is then normally given a duchy or similar, which is why it's discretionary. And this is why Cristina's has just been withdrawn ...

Incidentally, this means that Leonor is now Princess, and Sofía is Infanta ...

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

So if I can use a cricketing analogy, she has been stripped of her title for bringing the monarchy into disrepute?  Even though she has not been convicted.

[Perikles]

So if I can use a cricketing analogy,