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A American legislative committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights 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 response by 20 November.

Past Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The public deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

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

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate 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 “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.