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A US congressional panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The formal request to answer questions follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and opted to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in papers and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s survivors, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The committee will examine accusations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s enduring and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has consistently strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you stayed connected through and after his 2008 sentencing for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you went with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming underage individuals. This intimate friendship with Mr Epstein, along with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was endorsed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Collaboration

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee told: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the oversight committee. The public has the right to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US appeals for an interview. 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 earlier promise 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 assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “offered absolutely no cooperation”.

Calls for Accountability

The representative said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have avoided accountability for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and deliver accountability for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not cease fighting for answerability and openness for those affected of Epstein and his gang of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

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

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally removed Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III officially made the alteration – which had been revealed a week ago – by issuing a “royal decree” which the crown office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.