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A American legislative body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother assist with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Content of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Remarks and Cooperation

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

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

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to check on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and secure accountability for the survivors. The committee will not cease pushing for accountability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing 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 current investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his honors show there is further to this case.”

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