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

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

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

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to 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 reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.