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A American legislative panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s activities, network, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Remarks and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not have the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to check on his earlier promise that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.