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A American legislative body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he undergo an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its probe.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication 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 partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver justice for the victims. The committee will not halt advocating for responsibility 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 public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this case.”

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