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A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

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

“The committee will examine claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates 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 specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled 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 key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Earlier Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the ability to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure accountability for the survivors. We will not stop fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors show there is more to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.