King Charles has been urged to meet with survivors of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his upcoming state visit to the US by the family of Virginia Giuffre.
It was suggested on Tuesday, shortly after the visit was officially confirmed, that the King and Queen Camilla would not be able to meet with Epstein survivors.
HELLO! understands that this is due to the ongoing police investigations into matters related to Epstein, after Charles’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Lord Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, were arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office over their connections with the late sex offender. They have since been released under investigation.
However, there is a distinction between “will not be able to” and “will not”, and the royal couple is understood not to have ruled out future meetings.
Call for King to meet Epstein survivors
U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna wrote to the King on Monday to call for him to meet survivors privately, while the family of Virginia Giuffre has “strongly” urged the King to meet with them, as well as survivors.
Sky Roberts, Ms Giuffre’s brother, and Amanda Roberts, Ms Giuffre’s sister-in-law, previously thanked Charles for “standing behind survivors” following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in February.
In a statement to BBC Newsnight on Tuesday evening, they said they were “hopeful that conversation with survivors and their families will continue to elicit decisive action from the British government against the co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein”.
“King Charles III’s visit will come at a deeply personal time for our family,” the statement said. It added: “His arrival comes just two days after the one-year anniversary of the death of our beloved sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.”
© TNSThe late Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, accused Andrew of sexual abuse, which he vehemently denies.
King and Queen’s state visit to the US – details
Charles and Camilla’s long-expected historic trip is scheduled to proceed despite calls for it to be postponed or even cancelled because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump declared the trip will be a “momentous occasion” in a post on his Truth Social site, adding that there would be “a beautiful Banquet Dinner” at the White House on the evening of April 28.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesHe also revealed the “historic state visit” will take place over four days from 27-30 April, despite Buckingham Palace deciding not to release the exact dates in its own official announcement. The King will later make a solo trip to Bermuda.
“I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!” Trump added.
Tuesday’s official announcement from the palace read: “On advice of His Majesty’s Government, and at the invitation of The President of the United States, The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America.
“Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.”
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