Royal aide at centre of Meghan Markle ‘bullying’ allegations finally speaks out

Jason Knauf, who worked at Kensington Palace, for both the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has spoken publicly about the bullying claims surrounding the Duchess of Sussex

A former royal aide at the centre of the Meghan Markle bullying allegations has finally broken his silence.

Jason Knauf previously worked at Kensington Palace for both Prince Harry and Meghan as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales as their communications secretary. In 2018, he hit headlines when he made a bullying complaint against Meghan – emailing his concerns to Prince William’s then-private secretary, in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect staff. Meghan has always strenuously denied the allegations, with her team branding them a “calculated smear campaign”.

And now in an interview on Australian TV, Mr Knauf has spoken about the media storm for the first time after it emerged he had raised concerns. Speaking on 60 Minutes Australia, he explained how he wouldn’t “change anything”.

He explained: “I think it, it’s tough, but it’s probably quite good. You know someone who has been helping other people through how to deal with the public eye. You probably had to take your own medicine sometimes.

“You can’t choose just to take the fun stuff in any job. And that applies to the Prince and Princess [of Wales] as well as everyone else working for them. So I wouldn’t change anything.” When asked if he had any regrets from his time in the role, he replied: “No, it’s not what I would’ve sought, but you know, at the end of the day, you get to do an amazing job. You’ve got to take everything that comes with it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Knauf also said he wishes Harry and Meghan “the absolute best” and added: “We had lots of great times, working on their wedding was an amazing magical experience and I wish them absolutely all the best with their lovely family.”

In 2021, it emerged that several years prior, Mr Knauf sent an email to William’s then-private secretary, Simon Case, saying: “I am very concerned that the Duchess [Meghan] was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X [name removed] was totally unacceptable.

“The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y [name removed] and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y [name removed].”

Meghan’s lawyers said the claims were a “calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation”. An internal review into the claims was launched by Buckingham Palace but never made public.

Also in the interview, Mr Knauf revealed that William was at his ‘lowest” after Kate was diagnosed with cancer. Both the King and the Princess of Wales were treated for cancer last year. Kate is now in remission and Charles is having ongoing treatment.

Describing a phone call with William about Kate’s diagnosis, which was made public in March last year, Mr Knauf said: “It was awful, absolutely awful. It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him.”

Mr Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in the 2023 New Year Honours List and was presented with his award by William. Before joining the royal household the American-born former corporate affairs executive worked for a range of institutions, from the office of the New Zealand prime minister to HM Treasury and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Knauf led a review of the Royal Foundation’s role and structure from March 2019, before becoming its chief executive in September of that year. He oversaw the launch of the Foundation’s Earthshot Prize – William’s £50 million environmental prize, now an independent charity, which recognises solutions, ideas and technologies that “repair the planet”.