🔗 Share this article

A US congressional body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Claims

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

“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Previous Comments and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not have the ability to compel the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide justice for the victims. We will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.