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A American legislative panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” 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 secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure justice for the affected individuals. We will not stop advocating for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this story.”

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