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A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed 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 charged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and deliver redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop fighting for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

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

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.