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A American legislative committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The official demand to respond to queries arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his princely title and agreed to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US appeals for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and deliver justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not stop pushing for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing investigation. 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 victims will receive belated justice. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this story.”

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