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A American legislative committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was abusing women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not reply to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge 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 zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure redress for the victims. We will not cease fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the affected individuals will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.