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A US congressional body looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information 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 demands a response by 20 November.

Past Comments and Assistance

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

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver justice for the victims. We will not halt pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.