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A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the victims. The committee will not cease advocating for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this story.”

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