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A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and consented to give up his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in papers and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s operations, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Content of the Request

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion 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 endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the authority to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed 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 legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and deliver justice for the victims. The committee will not stop advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is more to this case.”

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