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A American legislative panel looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document released on Thursday, a US representative, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its investigation.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and travel logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The committee will examine claims of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections 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 detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Past Remarks and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the panel. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the authority to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force evidence from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver redress for the survivors. The committee will not stop fighting for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the affected individuals will receive much-delayed accountability. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this situation.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the royal office published in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.