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A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked 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 opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

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

Content of the Letter

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

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide accountability for the victims. The committee will not halt advocating for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group 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 investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this story.”

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