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A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and opted to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

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

“The oversight committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

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

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide accountability for the survivors. We will not stop pushing for responsibility and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

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

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.