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A US congressional committee investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

The official demand to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will probe claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s network, associates, and associates based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently categorically denied any impropriety.

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US requests 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 previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide redress for the victims. We will not stop pushing for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his gang of partners.”

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

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this story.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.