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A American legislative body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight 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 sexual assault.

“The committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed 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 abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern 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 co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt pushing for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

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