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A US congressional body probing pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, previously Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling cooperate with its investigation.

The official demand to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

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

“The oversight committee will examine accusations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request data on Epstein’s activities, circle, and connections based on the men’s enduring and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on particulars of his association with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of assaulting young girls. 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 bolsters our concern that you may have key insights about the offenses 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 demands a answer by 20 November.

Past Remarks and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the committee. The people deserves to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the authority to subpoena the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US requests for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that public commitment,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “given no cooperation”.

Appeals for Justice

The representative said in a statement that “rich and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and deliver accountability for the affected individuals. We will not stop advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his group of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s survivors, as well as public reporting of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the active probe. If he is blameless, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue redress. The royal household’s actions removing Andrew of his titles suggest there is further to this story.”

The letter came on the same day the British king officially stripped Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III publicly made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.