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A US congressional panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a document published on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight panel, requested that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to answer questions comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his royal title and consented to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Allegations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in documents and aviation records secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s activities, associates, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always categorically denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been widely reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you went with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing underage individuals. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our suspicion that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and demands a response by 20 November.

Earlier Comments and Assistance

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

However, the lawmaker does not have the authority to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot compel testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US appeals for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that authorities and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his public commitment that he was “willing to help any appropriate 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 absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Transparency

The representative said in a announcement that “wealthy and powerful men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and provide redress for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease advocating for responsibility and openness for victims of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving testimony to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of released files, “it is crucial that Andrew cooperates with the ongoing inquiry. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our examination will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The royal household’s actions stripping Andrew of his honors indicate there is further to this situation.”

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