🔗 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 undergo questioning as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

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

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Remarks and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The public should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check 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 honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “rich and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not halt pushing for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles suggest there is additional to this story.”

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