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A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs obtained 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 oversight committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

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

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled 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 accused of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and provide justice for the victims. The committee will not stop pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.