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A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender 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 probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s younger brother help with its inquiry.

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

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and flight logs 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 misconduct.

“The panel will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.

Content of the Request

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

It added: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Collaboration

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify before the panel. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the authority to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure accountability for the victims. The committee will not cease pushing for responsibility and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the ongoing inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this situation.”

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