Virginia Guffre's family urge King Charles to 'stand up and show unity' in US state visit

Ben McCaffrey
Fri, 24 Apr 2026 22:04:57 +0000

Virginia Giuffre's family have urged King Charles to "stand up and show his unity" during the upcoming state visit to the United States.

Sky Roberts, Ms Giuffre's brother, alongside his wife Amanda, had previously pressed strongly for the monarch to engage with both their family and survivors of the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

"We need the King of England to stand up and show his unity with survivors," Mr Roberts told the BBC.

"All we ask is for a 10-minute meeting with the King to show him that we're real people, with real feelings."

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The King and Queen are to embark upon a four-day American tour, meeting President Donald Trump and attending a White House banquet.

His Majesty has also received an invitation to address a joint session of Congress.

A BBC investigation published on Friday disclosed Epstein continued maintaining properties in the capital where women were housed for years following the Metropolitan Police's decision not to pursue Ms Giuffre's original complaint in 2015. She had informed officers that the financier had trafficked her to Britain during the early 2000s.

Mr Roberts condemned what he described as a pattern of institutional failings spanning both sides of the Atlantic.

"This has been systematic failure from not only the FBI, but the Metropolitan Police there in the UK," he stated.

"It could have avoided so many other years of abuse that had occurred right under the noses of these officers," Mr Roberts added.

The Roberts family have pledged their support for Lisa Phillips, another Epstein survivor, in demanding a public inquiry into allegations made against the financier by women in Britain.

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"We would 100 per cent call for an inquiry," Amanda Roberts declared.

She pointed to the recent revelations about Epstein's London properties as evidence that significant questions remain unanswered.

"Clearly, there is more things to be investigated and there's more evidence sitting there, especially if it was just discovered that, you know, he had been having flats years after the first reports came forward," Mrs Roberts explained.

The family's backing adds further momentum to growing pressure on British authorities to examine how Epstein operated within the UK despite earlier warnings from victims.

Controversy erupted in Congress this week after reports emerged that certain Republican members of a committee investigating Epstein were considering offering Maxwell a pardon in exchange for testimony.

"Never. Never," Mrs Roberts responded when asked whether such an arrangement could ever receive their support.

"Even the idea of pardon and blame Maxwell in the same sentence makes my stomach completely sick and the idea that this would be floated around as something plausible."