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A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

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

“The panel will investigate allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 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 accomplices.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Assistance

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond 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 lawyers 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 fulfilled with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this story.”

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