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A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs 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 abuse.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

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

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

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure justice for the victims. We will not stop pushing for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.