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A American legislative committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and consented to give up his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Content of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the panel. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to reply to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to check on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide justice for the victims. The committee will not stop fighting for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this story.”

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