A former Kensington Palace staffer who was the one who raised concerns regarding ‘s alleged bullying against staff when she was working as a senior royal has opened up about the incident.
Jason Knauf, who worked for both the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a new appearance today on 60 Minutes Australia and spoke about his time at the Palace.
Mr Knauf was also formerly chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation, stepping down at the end of 2021.
In October 2018, while working for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as their communications secretary, Mr Knauf made a bullying complaint against Meghan – emailing his concerns to William’s then-private secretary in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect staff. The duchess has always vehemently denied the allegations.
The email was leaked to The Times just days before Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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Meghan Markle was faced with bullying allegations when she was a working royal (Image: Getty)
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Speaking on 60 Minutes Australia, Mr Knauf spoke about the media storm that followed the leak.
He said [on whether it was difficult]: “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.”
Regarding any regrets, the former royal aide said: “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.”
Back in 2018, Mr Knauf sent an email to ‘s then-private secretary, Simon Case, saying: “I am very concerned that the Duchess 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].”
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Jason Knauf spoke on 60 Minutes Australia (Image: 60 Minutes Australia)
Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said at the time: “Let’s just call this what it is—a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.
“We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of the Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”
Buckingham Palace launched an internal review at the time regarding the claims but the findings were never made public.
Despite the alleged “bullying” row, Mr Knauf spoke fondly of the Sussex couple, saying: “I worked really closely with the two of them and we had lots of great times.”
He also spoke about their wedding in May 2018, adding: “Working on their wedding was an amazing, magical experience, and you know I wish them absolutely all the best with their lovely family.”
Buckingham Palace launched an internal review into the bullying claims, but the findings were never made public. Mr Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in the 2023 New Year Honours List.