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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, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter released on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, asked that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The written appeal to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and consented to surrender his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in documents and aviation records subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been alleged by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will probe claims of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and accomplices based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested details from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019. Andrew has always strongly denied any impropriety.

Substance of the Letter

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 sentencing for soliciting minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the newly disclosed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have valuable information 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 asks a answer by 20 November.

Earlier Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be summoned to give evidence before the committee. The citizens deserves to know who was assaulting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot compel statements from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US agencies said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had reached out to Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his earlier promise that he was “willing to help any suitable law enforcement agency”.

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

Calls for Transparency

The congressman said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to be honest and provide accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not cease advocating for responsibility and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of leaked documents, “it is crucial that Andrew assists with the ongoing probe. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker continued: “And if not, our probe will reveal that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed redress. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is additional to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the crown office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.