Royal staff member involved in accusations of bullying against Meghan Markle speaks out after staying silent for a long time

Former royal aide Jason Knauf has broken his silence after accusing Meghan Markle of ‘bullying’ junior members of staff. 

Mr Knauf, who previously worked for William and Kate between 2015 and 2021 and was formerly Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s press secretary, has appeared in a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia, Where There’s A Will. 

In 2018, he had sent an internal email raising concerns about Meghan’s alleged treatment of staff in the royal family, which was later leaked to the media. 

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has always denied the allegations of bullying, which she described an orchestrated smear campaign against her. 

Speaking publicly for the first time about the controversy, Jason said he ‘wouldn’t change anything’ and has ‘no regrets’. 

When asked if it was tough to have the spotlight on him following the email leak and allegations, he said: ‘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’. 

Prior to their disagreement, Jason said he’d had ‘great times’ working with the Sussexes, and said their 2018 Windsor wedding was a ‘magical experience’. 

Former royal aide Jason Knauf has broken his silence after accusing Meghan Markle of ‘bullying’ junior members of staff

Jason Knauf (left) is pictured with Harry and Meghan attending the Invictus Games in Toronto

Elsewhere, Jason opened up about his time working for Harry and Meghan and said he wishes them ‘the absolute best’. 

He said: ‘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.’

Buckingham Palace launched an internal review into the bullying claims, but the findings were never made public. 

Meghan meanwhile said they were a ‘calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation’. 

The royal aide became a special adviser to William and Kate and then chief executive of the Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of their official operations.

During his time working for the couple, Mr Knauf helped start William’s high-profile Earthshot environmental awards and the couple’s Heads Together mental health initiative, as well as undertaking 36 foreign trips with them.

He left the foundation in 2021 to move abroad.

Mr Knauf said at the time: ‘Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales was the honour of a lifetime.

Jason was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 2023

Jason said at the time: ‘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 am incredibly grateful.’ 

The book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown by Valentine Low explored the emails further. 

One extract told how palace press chief Jason Knauf wrote an email in 2018 to Prince William’s private secretary Simon Case about ‘very serious problems’ with Meghan’s behaviour.

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.’

In 2024, both Kate and Charles were diagnosed with undisclosed forms of cancer – with Prince William later reflecting on how the year was ‘brutal’ for the family. 

At the same time, wild conspiracy theories took over social media about Kate’s whereabouts as she took time out from the public eye. 

Speaking in the documentary, Jason told how William was the ‘lowest’ he’d ever seen him, as he was informed about Kate’s illness during a personal phone call with the prince.  

He said: ‘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. It was awful, absolutely awful. It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him.

Mr Knauf is pictured with the Princess of Wales during a visit to Scotland in 2021

‘But 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.’

Elsewhere in the documentary, which was released on Sunday, the royal aide revealed how there was nearly a mishap with the announcement of the birth of Princess Charlotte in 2015. 

He said that Kate and William informed him of their daughter’s arrival very early on – even before some members of the family were made aware. 

But news of her birth almost leaked two hours before the palace were ready to announce it, after Jason realised he must have ‘dropped’ the press release somewhere on the street. 

The release had contained valuable details including the time of birth and how much Charlotte weighed. 

But miraculously, none of the media managed to get hold of it and the announcement went ahead as planned. 

Jason recalled: ‘We weren’t going to announce it for another couple 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.’

He added: ‘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. I never found it and neither did any of the media though. So that’s all that really mattered.’

The 60 Minutes Documentary, Where There’s A Will, speaks to journalists and royal aides about the future King of England, and explores what sort of leader he will likely be.