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A American legislative body looking into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.

The written appeal to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to vacate his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

“The oversight committee will investigate accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s activities, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the freshly uncovered 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and asks a response by 20 November.

Past Statements and Assistance

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the panel. The public deserves to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not have the ability to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s attorneys to check on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any relevant 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 “given zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and provide redress for the victims. We will not stop fighting for responsibility and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will show that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles suggest there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.