The Duck Of Windsor He Ain't

The Duck of Palma and his bride, Infanta Christina de Espana

The son-in-law of King Carlos of Spain is now a person of interest in an embezzlement investigation, according to Spanish authorities.

Inaki Urdangarin, 43, a former Olympic athlete who carries the title Duke of Palma, will face court as part of an investigation into accusations that a non-profit organisation he ran was siphoning off funds from the regional government of the Balearic Islands – Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

For the record, any woman of royal birth whose name is Infanta Christina has absolutely no business marrying anyone named Erkle.

The Noos Institute, which the duke ran from 2004 to 2006, is accused of misusing millions of euros in public funds.

Oh noes! Not the Noos?!?!

The case has made the front pages of Spanish newspapers for weeks, but a judge's decision to name Mr Urdangarin as a formal suspect took the scandal to a new level.

The former handball player, who is married to King Juan Carlos's younger daughter, Princess Cristina, will have to appear in court in Palma, the capital of Majorca, on Feb 6.

And this was the magic that sealed the deal for her... he played Olympic handball?

Hmmm -excuse me Your Royal Highness, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Palms of Steel!

So, who is Erkle and what does he do? According to Forbes, he is from Sao Paolo, Brazil:

Inaki Urdangarin is 42 years old and serves as a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Urdangarin is a former world-class professional handball player. He has also participated in three Olympic Games, winning medals in two of them (1996 and 2000), and is Spain's most decorated sportsman accumulating significant sporting achievements, and especially the affection of many fans across Europe. He held the important role of Vice-President of the Spanish Olympic Committee. He combined competitions with studies of Business Science.

If he played hockey I could understand her attraction.

After ending his sporting career, he began advanced management studies in ESADE, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. Currently, he is a professor of business policy at ESADE. He has also developed a professional career as an advisor and consultant at La Caixa (a major Spanish financial firm) and Octagon, before he co-founded the Noos Institute, where he was the president until 2006...

...when he decided to tap into the fruit of the Institute.

Okay, okay, I agree. He is innocent until proven guilty. But for a Court to bring a member of the royal family under suspicion there has to be more than a handful, or palmful, of evidence implicating the Duck.

The Duck is being investigated for billing regional governments over 5 million euros for organizing sporting events and then diverting the funds to companies controlled by his associates.

More from Forbes:

Sustainable development and social integration have been some of the priority areas in which Mr. Urdangarin has developed his own professional activities for Telefónica. His sports, academic and professional experience makes him believe in the power of sports and culture as useful tools for social inclusion. He, together with other relevant sportsmen, international academics and CEOs, developed a foundation to study and promote the use of sports and culture to help those in danger of being socially excluded.

He's guilty as sin! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
Anyone who makes a living from the Society For The Prevention of Danger of Social Exclusion has to be stealing someone blind.

Here's Spain's royal family. That's the Duck on the right.