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A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Details of the Communication

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

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses 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 requests a response by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease fighting for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially 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 published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.