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A American legislative committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate 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 earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure accountability for the survivors. We will not cease pushing for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

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