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A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

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

“The committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Statements and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge 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 assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.