New Poll Adds to Andrew’s Woes as Huge Majority Believe He Should Testify to US Congress
After failing to reply to Congress, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces new low as a majority of Britons overwhelmingly say he should testify before US lawmakers.
With each passing day, pressure seems to be rising for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. After King Charles stripped him of his prince title and other honors, he was hit with another blow when the US Congress sent him a formal letter requesting his assistance in mapping the wider network surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers had even attached a deadline of November 20 for the disgraced royal to respond, which he supposedly ignored. While he may have chosen to look the other way, a lot of Britons feel otherwise. In a new poll, a majority of them have agreed that the 65-year-old should indeed appear before Congress to testify.
The YouGov poll shows that around three-quarters of respondents want the former Prince to sit for a formal interview. On the other hand, 9 percent think he should refuse, and another 16% remain unsure on the matter. Support for his cooperation is almost identical among men and women, with exactly 75 per cent asking him to testify. The survey comes soon after Mountbatten-Windsor failed to meet the deadline set by the members of Congress who had requested him to appear for a transcribed interview.
The letter, sent on November 6, stated that the committee wished to identify “co-conspirators and enablers” linked to the disgraced financier and argued that Mountbatten-Windsor “may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.” After the former Prince failed to respond to the letter, representative Suhas Subramanyam said that Mountbatten-Windsor appeared to be ‘hiding.’ "If he is hoping that the story will just go away by ignoring us and being silent, he will be sorely disappointed,” he bluntly said. Another representative, Raja Krishnamoorthi, urged him to ‘come clean’ about what he knows in an interview with BBC Newsnight. Their tone leaves little doubt that they want the 65-year-old to cooperate rather than sit tight and hope the matter loses momentum.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also talked about the ongoing situation between the Congress and Mountbatten-Windsor. While he avoided passing a direct judgment on the former Prince’s decision not to respond, he did stick to a familiar principle. "I've held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it," Starmer said when he was questioned by reporters while he was on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa.
While the Prime Minister chose his words carefully, Andrew continues to deny any wrongdoing. Even so, public sentiment has moved firmly against him. A separate survey last month placed him at the bottom of the royal family's popularity scale, with more than 90% holding an unfavorable view. Along with this, the former Duke is also preparing for a major shift in his private life.
Having been asked to vacate Royal Lodge, he is said to be shifting to a smaller residence on the Sandringham Estate early next year. With so many changes closing in at once, his decision to appear before Congress may offer a chance to right the ship, or it may send him even farther into choppy waters. Whatever the case may be, the public is definitely watching closely.
