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A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Communication

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

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings 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 requests a reply by 20 November.

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the panel. The citizens deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.