🔗 Share this article

A US congressional body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting 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 oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother assist with its inquiry.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will investigate claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, 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 underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Remarks and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the oversight committee. The citizens has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current investigation. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his honors show there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.