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A American legislative committee looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published 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 arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Records and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will examine accusations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s network, associates, and accomplices based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your association with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you traveled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming minors. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our belief that you may have key insights about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be called to testify 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 power to legally require the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.

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

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

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and well-connected men have escaped justice for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the opportunity to be honest and provide accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease fighting for answerability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the victims will receive much-delayed accountability. The Royal Family’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles suggest there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.