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A American legislative panel looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling help with its investigation.

The written appeal to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Documents and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and flight logs subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The citizens should be able to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s fair for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The representative said in a announcement that “rich and influential men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and secure justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing investigation. If he is innocent, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the victims will receive belated justice. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles suggest there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.