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A American legislative body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

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

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs obtained 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 sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting underage individuals. This strong bond 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 concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

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

However, the representative does not hold the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire 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 fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this story.”

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