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A US congressional body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs secured 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 abuse.

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

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

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange 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 co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the panel. The people deserves to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease fighting for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”

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