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A American legislative committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to vacate his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will probe claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

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

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. 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 supports our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Statements and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the panel. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an meeting. 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 previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate 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 “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not cease advocating for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is more 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 change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.