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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Letter

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

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Statements and Assistance

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

However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver redress for the survivors. We will not stop fighting for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.