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A US congressional body probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records 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 abuse.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings 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 Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The public deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this story.”

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