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A American legislative body investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The panel will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Details of the Request

“It has been documented that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The people has the right to know who was harming women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver justice for the victims. We will not cease advocating for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors indicate there is additional to this story.”

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