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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs secured 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 abuse.

“The committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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.

Past Remarks and Cooperation

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

However, the congressman does not hold the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.