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A American legislative body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports 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 demands a response by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an meeting. 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 “prepared 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 no cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

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