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A US congressional body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its investigation.

The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

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

However, the congressman does not have the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “wealthy and influential men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for accountability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed 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 monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.