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

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled 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 assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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 Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not hold the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.