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A American legislative committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

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

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

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

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

Content of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Comments and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided no cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this situation.”

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