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A US congressional committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

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

“The committee will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports 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 demands a response by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure justice for the victims. We will not halt advocating for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.