Former British prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been summoned to appear before a US congressional panel investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Mountbatten Windsor, the late Queen Elizabeth II's second son, has been sent a letter by Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight, requesting he submit to questioning.
In a statement, published on Thursday, local time, the committee said it would investigate "allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein's operations, network, and associates based on the men's longstanding and well-documented friendship".
"Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, former prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors," Congressman Robert Garcia said.
"Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators."
The US Congress has sweeping powers to subpoena people it wants to question; however, they do not apply to foreign nationals, meaning Mr Mountbatten Windsor cannot be compelled to testify.
The former royal has until November 20 to respond.
The former prince has been described as a close friend of Epstein's between 1999 and 2008.
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in Western Australia earlier this year, had alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to Mr Mountbatten Windsor as a teenager, and that the then-Duke of York had sexually abused her.
He denies any wrongdoing.
He stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid a deluge of public pressure, after a disastrous interview with the BBC's Newsnight program, in which he maintained his innocence in the face of those allegations.
Last month, Ms Giuffre's posthumously released memoir went on sale.
In it, she alleged Mr Mountbatten Windsor "believed having sex with me was his birthright".
She claimed she met the former prince on multiple occasions, including at an orgy on Epstein's private island.
Earlier this year, Democrats in the US released records listing Mr Mountbatten Windsor as a passenger on Epstein's private jet, and financial records that they allege show possible evidence of payments from Epstein for "massages for Andrew".
A US Federal Court lawsuit, brought by Ms Giuffre against Mr Mountbatten Windsor for sexual assault, was settled in February 2022.
While the exact terms were never made public, it's been estimated Mr Mountbatten Windsor paid about $US16 million ($22.75 million at the time) as part of the deal struck with Ms Giuffre.
Removal of Andrew's royal titles now in effect
It was announced last month that Mr Mountbatten Windsor's royal titles would be removed, and the official request was lodged on November 5.
A new entry into Britain's official public record, The Gazette, has shown that the removal of those titles has come into effect.
"The King has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm … to declare that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor shall no longer be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of 'Royal Highness' and the titular dignity of 'Prince'," the record says.
King Charles III has also stripped his brother of the living arrangements he had on the Windsor estate, near London, which meant the 30-room mansion Mr Mountbatten Windsor had called home was the subject of a so-called "peppercorn lease".
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
