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A US congressional body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

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

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, 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 intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Assistance

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

However, the representative does not have the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate 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 previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this story.”

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