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A American legislative committee investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

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

The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The citizens has the right to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to subpoena the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.

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

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

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide justice for the victims. The committee will not cease advocating for responsibility and clarity for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this case.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the change – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.