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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, requesting that he submit to a deposition as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the senior Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The formal request to provide testimony follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his princely title and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of misconduct.

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

It sought details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any misconduct.

Content of the Communication

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

It added: “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 abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our suspicion 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.

Earlier Comments and Cooperation

The letter follows a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to appear before the oversight committee. The people deserves to know who was abusing women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige testimony from a foreign national.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor did not cooperate to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s attorneys to check on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has honored with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Demands for Justice

The congressman said in a comment that “wealthy and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver justice for the victims. The committee will not halt pushing for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of partners.”

Another signatory, 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 vital that Andrew works together with the active probe. If he is innocent, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will show that, and the victims will receive much-delayed justice. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his titles indicate there is additional to this case.”

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