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A US congressional committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any misconduct.

Content of the Request

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

It added: “It has also been alleged that you went 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 abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to testify before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply 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 attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver accountability for the victims. We will not cease fighting for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this story.”

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