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A American legislative panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 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 requests a answer by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to follow up 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 followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this situation.”

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