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A American legislative committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, network, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “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 alleged of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Collaboration

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

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials 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 previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide justice for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop advocating for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”

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