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A US congressional committee probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and agreed to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Substance of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Statements and Cooperation

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

However, the representative does not have the authority to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his earlier promise that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Calls for Justice

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver justice for the survivors. We will not stop pushing for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.