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A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Claims

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

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship 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 suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver justice for the survivors. The committee will not cease fighting for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this case.”

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