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A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any suitable 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 “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop pushing for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this story.”

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