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A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. 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 bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.

Past Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant 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 no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the survivors. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.