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A US congressional body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

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

“The committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.

Details of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his earlier promise 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 assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure accountability for the affected individuals. We will not cease advocating for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.