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A American legislative committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will probe claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed 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 accused of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Collaboration

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

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

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure redress for the affected individuals. We will not halt fighting for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.