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A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

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

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“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 procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 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 crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Statements and Assistance

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

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

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