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A US congressional body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a communication made public on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, requested that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its inquiry.

The written appeal to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in records and flight logs secured 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 misconduct.

“The committee will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s enduring and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It requested information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our concern that you may have valuable information about the wrongdoings committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

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

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any suitable 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 “given absolutely no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “rich and well-connected men have evaded the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and secure justice for the affected individuals. Oversight Democrats will not halt advocating for answerability and openness for victims of Epstein and his group of co-conspirators.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the survivors will receive belated redress. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles show there is more to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king publicly revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III officially made the adjustment – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the royal office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.