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A American legislative body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide justice for the affected individuals. We will not halt advocating for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.