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A US congressional panel probing pedophile 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 inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you went 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 abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to appear before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached 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 followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and secure redress for the affected individuals. We will not stop advocating for accountability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.