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A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Details of the Letter

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

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined 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 key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure redress for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, 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 cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.