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A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The written appeal to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

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

“The panel will investigate claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Content of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies 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 prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide accountability for the victims. We will not halt fighting for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is more to this story.”

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