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A US congressional panel probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records secured 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 sexual assault.

“The panel will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the panel. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. We will not cease advocating for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is further to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.