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A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The public has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure accountability for the victims. We will not halt advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.