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A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs obtained 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 abuse.

“The committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life 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 association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details 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 response by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop pushing for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.