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A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

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 always categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. 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 confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Assistance

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

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

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is further to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.