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A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”

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