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A US congressional panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and travel logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop advocating for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another endorser, 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 crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.