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A US congressional body probing sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s illegal activities.

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

The formal request to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his royal title and agreed to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

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

“The committee will probe allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any misconduct.

Details of the Communication

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

It stated further: “It has also been reported 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 charged of assaulting underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief 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 asks a response by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was abusing women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a foreign national.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to cooperate to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair 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”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver accountability for the victims. We will not stop advocating for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the current probe. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the survivors will receive belated accountability. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this case.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the alteration – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.