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A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

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

“The oversight committee will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

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

It stated further: “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 secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Remarks and Collaboration

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

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

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to follow up 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 public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the victims. The committee will not stop pushing for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.