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A US congressional body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not have the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates 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 justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.