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A US congressional panel probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined 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 notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals 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 follow up on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.