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A American legislative committee looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s network, network, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A notification regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to appear before the oversight committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and provide accountability for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease advocating for answerability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.