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A American legislative panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to give up 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 publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming 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 confirms our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the panel. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors show there is additional to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.