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

In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

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

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship 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 Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not have the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver accountability for the victims. The committee will not halt advocating for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this situation.”

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