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A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details 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 categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Letter

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an meeting. 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 earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure justice for the survivors. The committee will not stop advocating for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.