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A American legislative body investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony arrives a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and opted to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and flight logs obtained from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The panel will examine allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and thoroughly recorded friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any misconduct.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of assaulting minors. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our suspicion that you may have important details about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

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

Previous Comments and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the panel. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not hold the power to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond 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 inquire on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The representative said in a comment that “rich and powerful men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to be honest and secure justice for the victims. Oversight Democrats will not halt pushing for answerability and transparency for those affected of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the ongoing inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles show there is additional to this case.”

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