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A American legislative committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding 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 took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship 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 concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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 requests a response by 20 November.

Previous Remarks and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The public deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to 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 reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and provide justice for the survivors. The committee will not cease fighting for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly 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 government journal.