Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been formally summoned by US lawmakers to answer questions about his long-standing connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein. just days after King Charles III stripped him of his royal titles.
On Thursday, 6 November, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued a letter requesting Mountbatten Windsor’s cooperation in their ongoing investigation into the controversial sex trafficking operations of the late American financier and convicted child sex offender.
‘The Committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr. Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations,’ the letter addressed to Mountbatten Windsor reads.
The American lawmakers asked him to attend a transcribed interview and requested that he respond to the invitation by 20 November.
The letter also mentioned that allegations against the former prince and his history of friendship with Epstein could provide potentially valuable information about the late businessman’s activities.
‘Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long,’ Rep. Robert Garcia, the head Democrat on the committee, said as reported by CNN. ‘Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors.’
The Fallen Royal’s Link with Epstein
In the letter, House Democrats noted that Mountbatten Windsor accompanied Epstein in multiple locations, including Epstein’s New York home, the royal estate at Balmoral in Scotland and the private island located in the US Virgin Islands, where the former royal has ‘been accused of abusing minors.’
According to the letter, ‘This close relationship with Mr. Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together,’ further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr. Epstein and his co-conspirators.’
Citing Virginia Giuffre’s Allegations
The committee’s letter also cites the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most vocal accusers. In her posthumous autobiography, Giuffre claimed that she was abused by the disgraced royal when she was only 17 years old.
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, wrote that she feared retaliation if she spoke out about the alleged abuses she experienced with Mountbatten Windsor.
‘Recent reporting confirms those fears, as law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom have launched an investigation into allegations that you asked your personal protection officer to ‘dig up dirt’ for a smear campaign against Ms. Giuffre in 2011,’ the letter mentioned. ‘This fear of retaliation has been a persistent obstacle to many of those who were victimized in their fight for justice.’
Andrew’s Fall from Power
On 30 October, King Charles III formally removed Mountbatten Windsor’s royal titles. The legal confirmation came on 3 November, when the Crown Office issued Letters Patent removing his style as ‘Prince’, the dignity of ‘Royal Highness’, and the title ‘Duke of York’.
Mountbatten Windsor was also ordered to vacate the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, which he continued to share with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson long after their divorce. As part of the fallout, Ferguson will also move out of the residence.
Mountbatten Windsor is expected to relocate to a property on the King’s private estate in Sandringham, Norfolk after the Christmas holidays.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
