Harry and Meghan’s ex-royal PR chief who accused Duchess of bullying is awarded by King Charles in New Year Honours
A FORMER royal aide who accused Meghan Markle of bullying has been recognised in the New Year Honours list.
Jason Knauf, who worked for both the Sussexes and Prince William and Kate, is being rewarded for his service to the monarchy.
He has been made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) after more than seven years with the Firm.
Mr Knauf began his career as joint communications secretary for the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Harry and Meghan before becoming a senior adviser for just Wills and Kate.
He was later made chief executive of the Royal Foundation – the charitable arm of their official operations – before stepping down at the end of 2021.
When working for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in October 2018, Mr Knauf raised concerns about the way Meghan was treating junior staff.
He emailed William’s then-private secretary in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect its workers.
The Duchess’s legal team have strenuously denied the bullying allegations against her.
Mr Knauf was also involved in Meghan’s copyright lawsuit against a newspaper publisher after it printed extracts of a “personal and private” letter she wrote to her father Thomas.
Evidence given by the ex-PR man was relied upon during an appeal.
In the Sussexes’ recent Netflix documentary series, Meghan claims Mr Knauf could not have been involved with the case “without the authority of his bosses”.
Former actress Meghan successfully sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over five articles that reproduced the note in August 2018.
A High Court judge ruled in her favour last year without a full trial, but ANL argued the case should go to a trial.
The publisher’s lawyers said new evidence from Mr Knauf suggested Meghan wrote the letter with the understanding that it could be leaked.
The challenge was dismissed by Court of Appeal judges.
During the final episode of their six-part documentary, Harry said there were attempts to try to “cover” the aide’s association with William, with Mr Knauf being described as a “former aide of Meghan and Harry” as opposed to, at the time, working as chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation.
A written statement from Mr Knauf’s legal team broadcast during the programme said: “These claims are entirely false.
“Mr Knauf was asked to provide evidence by both the Duchess of Sussex and Associated Newspapers.
“He was advised by counsel that evidence in his possession could be relevant and he then provided this directly to the court, staying neutral in the process.”
‘HONOUR OF A LIFETIME’
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.
He became the communications secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in 2015, before leading the press team for Meghan and Harry and later becoming a senior adviser to William and Kate.
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.
During his time, Mr Knauf oversaw the launch of the Foundation’s Earthshot Prize – William’s ambitious £50million environmental prize, now an independent charity, which recognises solutions, ideas and technologies that “repair the planet”.
His New Year Honours RVO gong is a gift from the King, bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or Royal Family in a personal way.
He said: “Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales was the honour of a lifetime.
“Receiving this recognition means more to me than I can say. I’m incredibly grateful.”