A court cleared the way for Princess Cristina, the sister of Spain's king, to be tried on tax fraud charges Friday in a landmark investigation affecting the royal family.

The case's investigative judge, Jose Castro, must now decide over the coming weeks whether to formally indict the princess, but this might not occur given that the state prosecutor and tax authorities say there is no basis for tax fraud charges against her.

Cristina*s lawyers maintained Friday that Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that people can't be tried on tax charges if neither the prosecutor nor tax authorities present charges.

The Palma de Mallorca court paved the way for Cristina's indictment after rejecting appeals against her being listed as a suspect in a corruption and embezzlement investigation centering on her husband, Inaki Urdangarin.

Castro said Cristina, 49, is suspected of two counts of cooperation in tax fraud. The court dropped a possible charge for embezzlement against her.

Urdangarin is suspected of embezzlement and fraud. He too has yet to be formally charged.