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A US congressional panel probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed 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 charged of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the victims. We will not halt fighting for accountability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”

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