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A US congressional committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.