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A American legislative panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs subpoenaed 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 abuse.

“The committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

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

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.