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A American legislative committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs secured 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 misconduct.

“The panel will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “rich and influential men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates 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 affected individuals will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.