🔗 Share this article

A US congressional panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to questioning as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

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

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any appropriate 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 “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a comment that “rich and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide accountability for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not stop advocating for responsibility and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.