🔗 Share this article

A US congressional committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he participate in a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication released on Thursday, a US representative, the senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked that King Charles III’s brother help with its inquiry.

The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and agreed to give up his property in Windsor.

Documents and Claims

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 misconduct.

“The committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s network, network, and accomplices based on the men’s longstanding and extensively reported friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It sought information from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been documented that your association with Mr Epstein commenced in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for trafficking underage girls for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It continued: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York property, the Queen’s estate at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s personal island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been alleged of harming young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, coupled with the newly disclosed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our belief that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be asked to appear before the committee. The people should be able to know who was harming women and minors alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not hold the power to compel the former prince and Congress itself cannot compel evidence from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor failed to respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers to inquire on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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

Appeals for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a comment that “affluent and influential men have escaped accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to come clean and deliver justice for the victims. We will not halt advocating for accountability and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of accomplices.”

Another supporter, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to accounts to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew assists with the active investigation. If he is blameless, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the affected individuals will receive belated redress. The Royal Family’s actions removing Andrew of his styles suggest there is additional to this case.”

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