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A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.