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A US congressional body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will examine allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.