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A US congressional body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother help with its probe.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs subpoenaed 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 sexual assault.

“The committee will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close 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 traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled 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 crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Remarks and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. 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 “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. We will not cease pushing for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.