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A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Remarks and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

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