Less than a week after her brother ascended the Spanish throne as King Felipe VI, Princess Cristina of Spain on Wednesday was charged with tax fraud and money laundering, the New York Times reported.

The case is reportedly based around the princess' husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, and whether he and his business associates embezzled millions in public money set aside for sporting events.

Cristina and Urdangarin have denied these charges in the past and already have appealed these charges, according to the BBC.

If Cristina is convicted, she could face up to 11 years in prison.

The three-year investigation is centered on whether Urdangarin used his royal position to get inflated sports contracts from politicians for Nóos Institute, a foundation that he chaired. José Castro, a judge based in Palma, Mallorca, is leading the case against the princess, her husband and 14 others.

In Castro's filing, he said there was significant evidence that Cristina personally profited and helped her husband with his suspected activities. Urdangarin faces six sets of corruption charges, the Times reported.

"The crimes against the public purse that Iñaki Urdangarin allegedly committed ... would have been hard to commit without at least the knowledge and acquiescence of his wife," Castro said, according to the BBC.

Money from the Nóos Institute was allegedly channeled into a company called Aizoon that Urdangarin had set up with Cristina. That money, about $7.5 million, was then allegedly used to pay for work on the couple's mansion in Barcelona, luxury vacations and dance lessons.

Cristina told the judge in February that she was unaware of the company's activities and had trusted her husband.

The next step in the case will see prosecutors and defendants putting their cases before Judge Castro, who will then decide how to proceed. The final decision on whether the princess should stand trial will be made at the provincial court at Palma de Mallorca.