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A US congressional body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will probe claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went 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 accused of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire 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 honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.