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A American legislative body looking into 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 probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and consented to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have valuable information about the offenses 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.

Past Remarks and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected 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 attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop fighting for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles show there is further to this case.”

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