Working behind the scenes of the British Royal Family isn't just about grand palaces and perfectly timed press releases—it comes with its fair share of drama. Jason Knauf, a trusted aide to Prince William and Kate Middleton, had a front-row seat to some of the most talked-about moments in recent royal history.
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From raising concerns about Meghan Markle’s treatment of staff to accidentally misplacing crucial details about Princess Charlotte’s birth, Knauf's time with the royals was anything but dull. Now, in a tell-all interview, he’s offering a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the monarchy, shedding light on the pressures, controversies, and unexpected mishaps that shaped his tenure.
Who is Jason Knauf and why is he a key former royal aide?
Jason Knauf is a former royal aide who played a significant role within Kensington Palace. Born in Texas, Knauf had an impressive career before joining the royal household. According to Grazia, he previously worked in corporate affairs at the Royal Bank of Scotland and the British Treasury. He also served as a press secretary for the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Knauf joined Kensington Palace in 2015 as the communications secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and later for Prince Harry and Meghan as well after they got married. He later became Chief Executive of the Royal Foundation, overseeing initiatives like the Heads Together campaign and the Earthshot Prize. His close working relationship with the royals made him a key figure in many major events and controversies within the palace.
One of the most significant moments in Knauf’s royal career was his involvement in raising concerns about Meghan Markle’s alleged bullying of junior staff members. In 2018, while working as the Sussexes’ press secretary, Knauf sent an internal email to Prince William’s private secretary, as per MailOnline. It read:
I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year… The duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights.
She is bullying (name removed) and seeking to undermine her confidence.
This email was later leaked to the media, sparking a major scandal and Knuaf handed in his notice a month after reporting these allegations.
Buckingham Palace announced an internal review into the claims, though the findings were never made public. Meghan denied the allegations, calling them a ‘calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.’
Knauf’s recent remark on Prince Harry and Meghan
In a recent interview for the 60 Minutes Australia documentary Where There’s a Will, Knauf finally broke his silence on his experience working for Harry and Meghan. He reflected on their 2018 wedding, calling it a ‘magical experience’ and stating:
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.
However, when asked about his involvement in the allegations against Meghan, Knauf was firm on his stance. When questioned the attention he received following the leak of his email, he responded:
I think 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 too. So, I wouldn't change anything.
Despite the controversy, Knauf continued working within the royal household and was later promoted to a more senior role with Prince William and Kate.
Knauf’s revelation of surprising mishap after Princess Charlotte’s birth
Knauf worked for William and Kate from 2015 to 2021, serving as their communications secretary before becoming the Chief Executive of the Royal Foundation. Knauf also shared a surprising behind-the-scenes story from his time as William and Kate’s aide—one that nearly resulted in a major media disaster.
When Princess Charlotte was born on 2 May 2015, Knauf was responsible for handling the official press announcement.
He revealed that after receiving details of Charlotte’s birth—including the time and weight—he wrote them down on a slip of paper while outside the hospital, preparing for the press release. However, in a moment of chaos, he accidentally lost the paper on the street, just hours before the planned announcement. He explained:
We weren't going to announce it for another couple of hours. And I had this piece of paper to go write this press release.
I'm still out there with hundreds of journalists trying to have a game face, and then I couldn't find the piece of paper, and I think I had dropped it somewhere on the street.
Miraculously, no media outlets found it, and the announcement went ahead as scheduled. Knauf admitted:
We managed to get through, but not announce it. But somewhere on that street, the entire time was a piece of paper that said there had been a little princess born, what time and how much she weighed.
It was one of those things, like, heart in mouth until we got to the announcement, and I got through it.
How was William impacted by Kate’s health diagnosis?
Knauf also touched on one of the most difficult periods for Prince William—the moment he learned that both his wife, Kate Middleton, and his father, King Charles III, had been diagnosed with cancer in the same year.
Speaking in the documentary, he revealed:
It was awful, absolutely awful. It's the lowest I've ever seen him. Within a couple of weeks, if you're Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn't believe it.
He described how William had to balance his public duties with the deeply personal challenge of supporting his family through illness. Additionally, the situation was complicated by online conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts while she recovered privately. Knauf said:
The problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background, online. 'Was she really ill?'.
But they didn't want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn't told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.
This article has been created with the help of AI.
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Sources used:
Grazia: Who Is Former Royal Aide Jason Knauf? The Man Who Gave Evidence Against Meghan Markle
MailOnline: Royal aide at centre of Meghan Markle bullying allegations finally breaks his silence
BBC: William at his lowest after Kate’s diagnosis, says ex-aide
Hello!: The major mishap that happened around Princess Charlotte's birth revealed
