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A American legislative body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to an interview as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged 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 confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered no cooperation”.

Appeals for Transparency

The representative said in a comment that “rich and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease fighting for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, 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 monarchy’s actions removing Andrew of his honors show there is further to this situation.”

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