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A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Details of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the committee. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the ability to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an meeting. 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 earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.