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A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its probe.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested information 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 vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, 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 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The people deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

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

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is further to this situation.”

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