🔗 Share this article

A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s network, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Communication

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this case.”

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