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A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

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

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease advocating for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.