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A US congressional committee looking into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo 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 oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its probe.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

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

“The committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Details of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you went 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 charged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Cooperation

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The citizens deserves to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge 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 “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure redress for the survivors. We will not stop pushing for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the alteration – 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 public registry.