King Charles III wanted to acknowledge victims of abuse in his joint address to Congress, including those allegedly abused by Jeffrey Epstein, the palace has said.
The British monarch said in his speech on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon, “In both of our countries, it is the very fact of our vibrant, diverse and free societies that gives us our collective strength, including to support victims of some of the ills that, so tragically, exist in both our societies today.”
Charles fell short of acknowledging victims of specific crimes, including those who were allegedly sexually abused by Epstein, but a palace aide told NBC News that he wanted to.
The king’s younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has denied accusations he sexually assaulted one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre died by suicide about a year ago at the age of 41.
Andrew was mentioned 88 times in Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl.
Giuffre first met Andrew in London when they went out for dinner, and then to a nightclub with Epstein and his long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, she wrote in her memoir. She was 17 years old at the time, and Andrew was 41. She said they had sex for the first time after their night out, writing, “He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
Charles formally stripped Andrew of the title of prince last November.
Andrew was arrested by British police in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his ties to Epstein. It came after local authorities said they were assessing reports that Andrew sent trader information to the wealthy financier in 2010 when he was a British special envoy.
The former prince was released after being held for hours. He was not charged with a crime.
Charles is the second British monarch to address Congress — his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, being the first to do so in 1991.
In his speech, Charles emphasized the importance of NATO at a time when President Donald Trump heavily scrutinizes the military alliance, most recently over its refusal to get directly involved in the Iran war.
The king also acknowledged how executive power is “subject to checks and balances,” while the White House posted a photo on social media of him and Trump with the caption, “TWO KINGS.”
This is a developing story…
