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| The US trip will be a return visit after the Trumps were hosted at Windsor last year(Image: PA Media) |
There are increasingly loud calls for King Charles and Queen Camilla to meet survivors of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during their state visit to the US later this month.
Lisa Phillips, a US survivor of Epstein, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've already sent letters to him [the King] and we're already been requesting meetings with him“.
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She added her voice to US Congressman Ro Khanna and the family of the late Virginia Giuffre, calling for the royal visitors to engage with Epstein's victims, who have questions about the involvement of the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who has faced his own calls to testify for a congressional inquiry, has denied any wrongdoing from his links to Epstein.
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| Lisa Phillips suggests that Queen Camilla might meet Epstein survivors(Image:Thierry Humeau) |
The four-day trip to meet
President Trump, from 27 to 30 April, was already likely to be controversial.
It takes place in the midst of the
Iran conflict, and the ceasefire during the state visit is uncertain. It might be difficult to be chinking glasses in the White House if bombs are still falling. In addition, if Trump continues to make disparaging remarks about the
British prime minister, the armed forces, or
NATO allies, it will be awkward.
When the King addresses
Congress, one of the most significant speeches of his reign, it will be expected of him to help restore the somewhat strained friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom. But it increasingly seems that the King and Queen, in the wake of the Mountbatten-Windsor scandal, will be the focus of some difficult questions themselves, with calls for some kind of public response to Epstein's victims during their trip.
The survivors want to be part of the conversation.
Phillips, a former model who has spoken out about her experiences as an Epstein survivor, believes that meeting Queen Camilla rather than the King might be more likely.
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| Congressman Ro Khanna asked the King for a meeting with Epstein victims(Image: EPA) |
She said on Friday's Today show, "It may happen with Camilla." "She's always been supportive of the survivors. She's taken a stand for us. She would probably meet with us more often. So we're hopeful that maybe she will”.
The Queen has spoken out about her own assault as part of her ongoing campaign against domestic violence and violence against women and girls.
"To every survivor of every kind of violence, many of whom have not been able to tell their stories or who have not been believed, please know that you are not alone," the Queen told a reception at St James's Palace, in a speech seen as a thinly-veiled reference to Epstein's victims.
A previous statement from Buckingham Palace had said the King and Queen's "thoughts and sympathies have been, and remain with, the victims of any and all forms of abuse".
In terms of a concrete response, the Palace has already taken unprecedented steps to remove the former Prince Andrew from his residence and strip him of his titles.
So far there have been no signs that the state visit will include any reference to Epstein or his survivors. A meeting with the King and Queen remains very unlikely.
It is understood there are serious concerns that any comments or remarks in meetings could jeopardise the legal process that is underway following the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor.
Although US Congressman Khanna has rejected this, telling The Times there could be a meeting between survivors and the King without any "specific facts regarding his brother" being discussed.
The Democrat, who co-sponsored legislation that required the US justice department to release the Epstein files, has already written to the King calling on him to engage with Epstein victims, saying: "As you are aware, this is not solely an American matter."
The state visit occurs just a few days after the one-year anniversary of Giuffre's suicide. Sky and Amanda Roberts, Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law, have stated that they "strongly urge" the King to "meet with us and survivors and hear what we have to say." Giuffre was a prominent Mountbatten-Windsor accuser. The Trumps would feel just as uneasy if the Epstein scandal became part of the state visit as the visiting royals would.
Melania Trump, First Lady, felt it was necessary to publicly deny any connection to Epstein and to demand that victims be allowed to testify before Congress. President Trump has praised the King's visit and has been a vocal advocate for the monarchy. On social media he announced he would "look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!"
Therefore, the Trump administration will want to keep the positive aspects of the visit intact at all costs.
Although the UK public might seem less enthusiastic, with a recent
YouGov opinion poll suggesting 49% are against the state visit compared with 33% in favour.
The BBC's Royal Watch newsletter has had emails from readers opposed to the trip.
This included criticism such as the admonition that the president's "appalling insults" are "punching at not just Starmer but at our soldiers and our institutions." Stay at home, said another. Why insult me?" However, such state visits are made on the government's behalf, and the US trip was planned for months with the important goal of improving relations. State visits are tightly choreographed events, carefully planned in advance, with limited opportunities for adaptations. Additionally, the agenda is not set by the royals. But the calls over Epstein are getting louder and harder to ignore. Survivors are likely to be doing interviews and making their points during the visit, contrasting their stories with the ceremonial splendour.
Source: BBC
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