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A US congressional committee probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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 Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop fighting for responsibility and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

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