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A US congressional body investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its probe.

The written appeal to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to give up his property in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will examine claims of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s operations, circle, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been claimed that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of assaulting underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Comments and Assistance

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not possess the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

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

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

Demands for Justice

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and deliver justice for the affected individuals. We will not stop fighting for answerability and transparency for victims of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the survivors will receive long overdue accountability. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles indicate there is further to this case.”

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