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A American legislative panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will probe accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed 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 charged of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 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 offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.