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A US congressional panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

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

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Justice

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure accountability for the survivors. The committee will not cease fighting for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this case.”

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