🔗 Share this article

A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and aviation records obtained 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 abuse.

“The panel will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “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 private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along 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 crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Remarks and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond 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 lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable 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 no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is more 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 alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.