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A American legislative panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.

The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs subpoenaed 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 abuse.

“The committee will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

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

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any appropriate 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 “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.