There was a time, not so long ago, when Iñaki Urdangarin interacted freely and comfortably with the press. However, the former Duke of Palma, who in 2022 separated from Infanta Cristina after nearly a quarter-century of marriage and completely severed ties with the Spanish royal family, has not appeared before the cameras since the Nóos case scandal erupted.
At that time, he became the first direct relative of the monarch to end up behind bars. He was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison. The former handball player served his sentence in the women’s prison of Brieva until January 2021. After volunteering with the NGO El Hogar de Don Orione, he was transferred to the Social Integration Center in Alcalá de Henares, and his final place of incarceration was the Zaballa prison in Álava.
In March 2022, having served two-thirds of his sentence, he was granted parole. It was then that Urdangarin found work at a law firm in Vitoria, where he met his current partner, Ainhoa Armentia.
And now, quite unexpectedly, Iñaki Urdangarin has decided to break his prolonged silence. He will appear in an interview that will air “very soon” on the state-run channel Televisión Española. Notably, he has chosen not a popular show hosted by one of the channel’s stars, but a more modest format — the program Pla Seqüència, broadcast on La 2Cat, RTVE’s Catalan channel.
The exact date and time of the broadcast have not yet been announced, but it is known that this interview will launch La 2Cat’s new ambitious project. In a brief teaser, a clip was shown featuring host Jordi Basté and Urdangarin talking during a car ride. In the video, the former husband of Infanta Cristina is seated in the passenger seat, and they converse in Catalan. The journalist asks how long it has been since he last had such a conversation, to which the guest replies that, in his opinion, this is actually the first interview about him as a person rather than as an athlete. With a playful tone, he adds that since the interview is with Basté, the host will have to rise to the occasion.
In its press release, the TV channel describes this conversation as “the first television interview of a personal nature, far from a strictly sports or institutional focus.” The show’s creators say their aim is to accompany their subjects for 50 minutes with no breaks, edits, or cuts. This approach is intended to capture genuine, spontaneous moments that reveal the person in his everyday life. To offer viewers a direct and unfiltered perspective, Pla Seqüència will also include accounts from those close to the guest—family, friends, or colleagues—to help paint a more human portrait. Which of Iñaki Urdangarin’s inner circle will appear on the show remains undisclosed for now.
This will be a unique opportunity for Urdangarin to tell his story in his own words. Until now, only those close to him have shed light on his personal situation, but now he is ready to speak out himself.
For context, Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert, born in 1968, was a professional handball player and a member of Spain’s national team, with whom he won two Olympic bronze medals. His life changed dramatically in 1997 after marrying Infanta Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos I, gaining the title Duke of Palma. The scandal known as the “Nóos case” erupted in 2011 and was linked to a non-profit institute managed by Urdangarin and his business partner. They were accused of embezzling millions of euros in public funds through fraudulent contracts. The trial became one of the most high-profile in modern Spanish history, as Infanta Cristina herself also appeared in court, though she was ultimately acquitted. Urdangarin was convicted of embezzlement, fraud, forgery, and abuse of power. In 2018, he began serving his prison sentence. His release and subsequent divorce from the Infanta marked a final break with the royal family and the start of a new, private life—one he is now ready to share with the entire country.
