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A American legislative panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs secured 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 examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The people should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies 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 contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not stop fighting for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.