Dem Rep. Slams King Charles for Declining to Meet Jeffrey Epstein’s Survivors

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has criticized King Charles III for what he called a “moral failure.” The British monarch did not attend a roundtable meeting with Epstein survivors held ahead of his address to Congress.

On Tuesday, April 28, Congressman Khanna and other lawmakers held a roundtable with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was a disgraced financier and convicted child s*x offender. Advocates from several anti-trafficking organizations were also present at the discussion held in Washington, DC. 

King Charles is on a four-day state visit to the US. Khanna expressed disappointment after learning the King refused to attend the roundtable to speak privately with the survivors. Instead, Charles planned to address them in his speech to Congress. 

“It’s very disappointing after the British Ambassador [Sir Christian Turner] told me that the King would talk about the survivors and s*x trafficking,” Khanna told Us Weekly in a statement. “The King’s failure to acknowledge the pain his brother had caused is a moral failure and emblematic of an elite impunity that is an ongoing affront to survivors,” Khanna added, referring to King Charles’ disgraced brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. 

For the unversed, former Prince Andrew has been under increasing public scrutiny for his past connections with Epstein. 

In 2019, Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre accused Mountbatten-Windsor of s*xually assaulting her as a teen. She was allegedly trafficked to him by the late offender. Giuffre, who passed away in April 2025, had also filed a formal civil lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021. The shamed Prince has repeatedly denied all allegations. 

Amid this, the royal family has distanced itself from the former Duke of York. King Charles even stripped Andrew of his royal titles in 2025.

Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, was also at Rep. Khanna’s roundtable. He called out the King for skipping the meeting with the survivors. 

“Survivors are here sitting with members of Congress, still fighting to be heard, still pushing for real accountability, while many of the powerful figures connected to these systems remain just out of reach, unable to acknowledge survivors face to face,” Roberts said, according to The Guardian. “You would expect this to be a moment for the king to give a message to the world that he stands with survivors.”

Soon after the roundtable, Democrat Khanna spoke to the press about King Charles’ decision not to meet with Epstein survivors, reports ABC’s Eyewitness News. 

“I thought the king owed that to the survivors, given his brother’s serious allegations of abuse, and I thought it would have been an incredible moment and statement to show that it doesn’t matter how much wealth you have, how much power you have,” he said. “No human being is dispensable and the survivors deserve justice. He unfortunately declined that request.” Khanna, 49, had sent King Charles, 77, a letter in March 2026. In it, he asked the King to meet with Epstein survivors during his state visit to the U.S.

“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, according to The Guardian. “Survivors want this meeting.”

But the New York Times reported in late April 2026 that a lawyer representing King Charles and Queen Camilla later said in a letter that the British monarch would not be meeting with Epstein’s victims at the roundtable.

The letter explained that because of “ongoing police inquiries” in the UK, the King was “unable to meet survivors or comment directly on the matters under inquiry”.

“The king and queen have consistently made clear their support for all victims of abuse, wherever and however perpetrated,” the letter added.