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A US congressional panel looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his HRH style and opted to give up his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

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

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

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 always strongly denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Request

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the panel. The people has the right to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to follow up on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a comment that “rich and influential men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver redress for the victims. The committee will not halt fighting for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as news accounts of released files, “it is essential that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles show there is additional to this story.”

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