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A US congressional committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights 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 reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another supporter, 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 current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this situation.”

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