King Charles declines meeting with Epstein survivors during U.S. visit

Ro Khanna pressed Buckingham Palace to make the Epstein scandal part of King Charles III’s first U.S. state visit in a direct, private way: a meeting with survivors. In a March 30 letter, the California congressman and co-author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act asked Charles to sit down with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during the week of April 27, when the king is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., and address a joint meeting of Congress.

Buckingham Palace has now said that will not happen. The palace said Charles and Queen Camilla will not meet Epstein survivors during the four-day visit, scheduled for April 27 to 30, because such a meeting is not possible while UK police investigations related to Epstein remain ongoing. That answer reflects more than calendar management. It shows a monarchy trying to control the symbolic reach of a state visit that is meant to project diplomacy, while avoiding any appearance of stepping into active criminal scrutiny or widening the institution’s exposure to a scandal that has already touched the British establishment.

The timing gives the refusal unusual weight. The trip is being framed as part of the 250th anniversary of American independence, and Charles and Camilla are expected at a White House banquet on April 28. President Donald Trump has confirmed the visit, turning it into a high-profile diplomatic event between Buckingham Palace and the White House. For Charles, it will be his first U.S. state visit as monarch, which makes every public gesture, and every withheld one, politically loaded.

Khanna argued that Epstein’s network had deep links to Britain, pointing to Ghislaine Maxwell and connections to British public figures and social circles. The pressure on the king has intensified as British police separately arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on February 19 and former U.K. ambassador Peter Mandelson on February 24 on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to Epstein. Both men were later released under investigation and have not been charged, while prosecutors are providing early investigative advice to police.

The family of Virginia Giuffre also urged Charles to meet survivors during the visit, noting that it will come two days after the one-year anniversary of her death. Sky Roberts and Amanda Roberts have echoed that call, and BBC reporting has said survivor pressure on the royals has become harder to ignore as the trip approaches. Sir Ed Davey has called for the visit to be canceled, while the British government says it will help strengthen ties.