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A American legislative committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “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 alleged of abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities 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 prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the victims. The committee will not cease fighting for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.