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A American legislative body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Letter

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

It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a reply by 20 November.

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this case.”

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