🔗 Share this article

A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he undergo a deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein’s criminal operations.

In a document made public on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s brother help with its investigation.

The formal request to respond to queries comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his HRH style and opted to vacate his rented residence in Windsor.

Records and Claims

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

“The oversight committee will examine allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand details on Epstein’s activities, circle, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

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

Substance of the Letter

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It stated further: “It has also been claimed that you traveled 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 charged of abusing underage individuals. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 electronic correspondence in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further confirms our concern that you may have important details about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his accomplices.”

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

Past Statements and Collaboration

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

However, the representative does not have the ability to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a foreign national.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to respond to US demands for an discussion. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

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

Demands for Transparency

The congressman said in a comment that “affluent and powerful men have evaded accountability for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the option to tell the truth and secure redress for the survivors. The committee will not cease advocating for accountability and clarity for victims of Epstein and his group of partners.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after receiving accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as public reporting of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active investigation. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our investigation will reveal that, and the victims will receive long overdue justice. The monarchy’s actions taking away Andrew of his styles indicate there is additional to this situation.”

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