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A US congressional body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and opted to vacate his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s operations, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information 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 asks a response by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

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 lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Demands for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a statement that “affluent and powerful men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and provide redress for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for responsibility and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.