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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

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

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along 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 valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.