🔗 Share this article

A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to an interview as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

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

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Content of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern 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 supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Past Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not have the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony 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 prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not halt pushing for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.