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A US congressional committee probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter released on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, requested that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its investigation.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his property in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

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

“The panel will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s operations, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Request

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

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed 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 young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion 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 requests a reply by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Assistance

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

However, the representative does not hold the authority to subpoena the duke and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment 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 public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered zero cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “wealthy and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the current probe. If he is blameless, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly removed Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the royal office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.