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A US congressional committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek 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 particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to 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 legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not cease pushing for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.