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A US congressional body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

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

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide redress for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is more to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.