Touching memorial held on one-year anniversary of the death of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre

Published: 15:13, 26 April 2026 | Updated: 15:13, 26 April 2026 A memorial has been held on the first anniversary of the death of Virginia Giuffre. More than 100 family and supporters gathered near the Washington Monument in the US capital to remember the mother-of-three, who took her own life on April 25 last year at her home in Western Australia. Sky Roberts gave a speech and said his sister - who rose to global prominence when she accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking her as a teenager - had turned 'pain into purpose' by advocating for victims.  The family also renewed their calls for the King Charles to meet with them during his upcoming state visit to the US, to 'show unity with survivors'. Sky along with Amanda Roberts, Ms Giuffre's sister-in-law, had 'strongly' urged Charles to meet with them earlier this month. Charles and the Queen are due to arrive in the US on Monday for a four-day visit during which they will meet President Donald Trump. They will also be guests of honour at a White House banquet, and Charles has been invited to address a joint meeting of the US Congress. 'We need the King of England to stand up and show his unity with survivors,' Sky Roberts, speaking to BBC Newsnight on Friday evening, said. (L-R) Lanette Wilson, Danny Wilson, Sky Roberts, and Amanda Roberts speak during Remembering Virginia Roberts Giuffre: A Butterfly Vigil on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC Giuffre was one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein 'We will be 10 minutes from him. We will be lobbying that same day in the same buildings that he will be entering in and out of. 'And all we ask is for a 10-minute meeting with the King to show him that we're real people, with real feelings.' On Friday it was also revealed Epstein continued to house women in London flats for years after the Metropolitan Police decided not to investigate Ms Giuffre's original allegation in 2015. 'This has been systematic failure from not only the FBI, but the Metropolitan Police there in the UK,' Mr Roberts said. 'I mean if they would have listened to Virginia and took her claim seriously the first time, it could have avoided so many other years of abuse that had occurred right under the noses of these officers.' Mr and Mrs Roberts also vowed to join Lisa Phillips – another Epstein survivor – in her call for a public inquiry into allegations made by women in the UK against the paedophile financier. 'We would 100 per cent call for an inquiry,' Amanda Roberts said. '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 (Epstein) had been having flats years after the first reports came forward.' Another Epstein survivor Lara Blume-McGee attends to flowers at the vigil Lanette Wilson - Giuffre's sister-in-law - speaks at the vigil  Earlier this week, controversy erupted in Congress following reports that some Republican members of an influential committee investigating Epstein were open to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, being granted clemency in return for her giving evidence before them. This has been seized on by Democrat opponents, who have condemned it as 'sick' and branded Maxwell a 'monster'. The British socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US for luring young girls for the paedophile financier to sexually abuse. Asked if a pardon for Maxwell in exchange for evidence is something they could support, Ms Roberts replied: 'Never'. US congressman Ro Khanna has also made repeated calls for Charles and Camilla to meet with Epstein survivors. But royal sources have previously said the legal implications of Charles and Camilla having contact with any of Epstein's survivors, and the King's constitutional position, would make a meeting impossible while there are ongoing UK police investigations into the matters. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.