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A American legislative panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Letter

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

It stated further: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 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 wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a answer by 20 November.

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities 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 prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive long overdue accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.