King Charles refused to meet Epstein survivors during his US visit, and his excuse just unraveled under scrutiny
Sidestepping accountability.
King Charles III refused to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse during his ongoing U.S. visit, and his excuse for dodging the sit-down just fell apart under scrutiny. The king’s team claimed he couldn’t meet with victims because of “ongoing police inquiries” in the U.K., but survivors and their advocates are calling the move a missed chance to show real support.
According to The Guardian, Sky Roberts, brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, spoke out at a roundtable discussion hosted by California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna. The event, held just before Charles addressed Congress, brought together survivors, family members, and human rights advocates.
Roberts didn’t hold back, saying survivors are “still fighting to be heard” while powerful figures tied to the scandal avoid facing them. “You would expect this to be a moment for the king to give a message to the world that he stands with survivors,” he said.
Khanna had sent a letter to the king last month, urging him to meet Epstein survivors privately
“I respectfully ask that you privately meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s abuse, so they may speak to you directly about the ways powerful individuals and institutions failed them,” Khanna wrote. “Survivors want this meeting.”
But a lawyer for King Charles and Queen Camilla shut down the request, citing those “ongoing police inquiries” and insisting the king couldn’t comment on matters under investigation. The letter did add that the king and queen “have consistently made clear their support for all victims of abuse, wherever and however perpetrated.”
That excuse isn’t sitting well with survivors. Roberts said earlier this week that skipping the meeting was a “missed opportunity.” He said even a brief acknowledgment – looking survivors in the eye and promising a fair investigation – would’ve meant something.
The Epstein scandal has been a shadow over the royal family for years
This is especially because of the king’s younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Giuffre accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexually abusing her after she was trafficked by Epstein. He’s always denied the claims, but the fallout has been brutal. In 2019, he stepped back from royal duties after a disastrous interview about his friendship with Epstein.
By 2021, Giuffre had filed a civil suit against him, and in 2022, they reached an out-of-court settlement though he never admitted wrongdoing. That same year, he lost his military roles and royal patronage, and last October, he was stripped of his remaining royal titles and moved out of his home at the Royal Lodge.
The scandal took another turn in February when Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The allegations suggest he may have shared confidential material with Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy. He’s denied any wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged, but the arrest prompted a rare public statement from the King. “The law must take its course,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t comment further during the process.
His refusal to meet with survivors feels like another letdown
The king’s address to Congress didn’t mention Epstein or the survivors at all. There was one line that some took as a nod to the issue, “In both of our countries, it is the very fact of our vibrant, diverse and free societies that gives us our collective strength, including to support victims of some of the ills that, so tragically, exist in both our societies today,” but it was vague enough to feel like a non-answer.
The king and queen’s visit is packed with symbolism, marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. But the Epstein scandal has loomed over it, especially since the US has done little to hold others in Epstein’s circle accountable. The Justice Department has released millions of files related to Epstein in recent months, but only Ghislaine Maxwell has faced prosecution. The DOJ insists there are no active investigations into other individuals tied to the network.
Meanwhile, the UK has taken a harder line. Alongside the probe into Mountbatten-Windsor, there’s a separate criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the US. Mandelson is accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein that could’ve been valuable on Wall Street. He was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and resigned from the Labour Party, putting Starmer under intense political pressure.
Lauren Hersh, co-founder of World Without Exploitation, an advocacy group working with Epstein survivors, told CNN that the king’s visit was a chance to “do right by the survivors.” Queen Camilla, for her part, has been meeting with groups campaigning against domestic violence during the trip. It’s a way to address the broader issue without wading into the Epstein scandal directly.
But for survivors like those who gathered on Capitol Hill, that’s not enough. They wanted a face-to-face meeting with the king, a chance to be seen and heard by someone in power. Instead, they got a carefully worded letter and a speech that danced around the topic.
(Featured image: The Trump White House)
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