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A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs subpoenaed 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 panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

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

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.