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A American legislative body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs obtained 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 oversight committee will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been reported that you went 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 alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not halt pushing for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this story.”

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