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A US congressional committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

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

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed 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 charged of assaulting young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the crimes 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.

Previous Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the affected individuals. We will not cease advocating for answerability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

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

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.