As a key player in the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle documentary series, which aired on Netflix in December 2022, many more people are wondering who the couple's ex-aide Jason Knauf is.
Who is Jason Knauf?
Jason Knauf joined Kensington Palace in 2015 as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s communications secretary. It's said Jason was so well-trusted within Palace walls that he was asked to help with private letters to Meghan Markle's family - which would later see him embroiled in Meghan's legal battle, in which he gave evidence against the Duchess in her hearing against Associated Newspapers.
One of his first jobs within the royal family was working with Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry on their joint venture, The Heads Together campaign, which highlighted mental health.
But he wasn't simply staff. He was so close to the Duke and Duchess that he attended their highly exclusive 2018 wedding, becoming Megan’s secretary shortly after. Following a short break from work due to a fallout with Meghan over bullying allegations, Knauf went back to work at Kensington Palace as acting Chief Executive of the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation, before resigning last year.
Who is Jason's husband?
When Jason stepped down as CEO of William and Kate's Royal Foundation, it was put down to 'overseas travel' - after his husband landed a job abroad, and Jason followed.
It's unknown who Jason's husband is, as the former royal aide keeps his private life extremely private. It's not known who he married or how long they've been together, only that he is indeed married.
Where is Jason from?
Texan-born Jason was born in Texas, before relocating to Virginia aged five.
What did Jason Knauf do before working for the Royal Family?
Before becoming a member of the very well-connected royal staff, Texan-born Jason worked in the Royal Bank of Scotland and British Treasury as Director of Corporate Affairs. Before that, he was a press secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 2007 to 2008.
What allegations has Jason Knauf made about Meghan Markle?
Believe it or not, before he was involved in the trial, Jason was actually played an integral part in defending the Duchess from the onslaught of negative press. In 2016, Jason released a statement on behalf of Prince Harry, denouncing the press’ treatment of then-girlfriend Meghan Markle.
The statement read, ‘Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.’
Meghan presumably felt comfortable enough with Jason that she asked for his feedback on the now-infamous private letter to her father, Thomas Markle - which later found itself printed in the pages of the Mail on Sunday.
Yet a mere two months later, Jason turned his back on Meghan, after it was revealed that he had raised concerns and called her out over allegedly bullying junior staff members.
According to The Times, Jason emailed Prince William’s private secretary to raise his concerns, writing ‘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.’
He continued, ‘She is bullying (name removed) and seeking to undermine her confidence.’ A month after reporting the allegations of bullying, he handed in his notice.
In response to the bullying claims, Meghan said she was 'saddened' by the allegations. But whilst the couple branded the accusations a "wholly false narrative," Buckingham Palace announced at the time that they would investigate the concerns
What did Jason Knauf say in his witness statement?
Whilst giving evidence against Meghan, Jason claimed that the Duchess hand-wrote a letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, knowing it may eventually be leaked to the press. Knauf said, ‘When the Duchess was considering how to handle Mr Markle's increasing public interventions – both for concerns about his welfare and also to protect her reputation – she explored options for written communication that might convince him to stop giving interviews, but that could also set the record straight if he gave them to the media.’
A few months after Meghan and Harry’s wedding, Knauf recalled, ‘She asked me to review an electronic draft of the letter. [She said] obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice, but please do let me know if anything stands out for you as a liability.'
'She also asked a specific question regarding addressing Mr Markle as “Daddy” in the letter' he said, adding '[She said] it may make sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings.'
He also revealed text messages between the two, saying 'In the messages on 24 August she said she felt fantastic after writing it, and added that if he leaks it then that’s on his conscious, but at least the world will know the truth. Words I could never voice publicly.''
Why did Jason Knauf speak out against Meghan Markle?
The Mail on Sunday asked the Court Of Appeal to admit Jason's written statement as evidence, but it's unclear whether the statement was prepared before the first trial and not allowed to be admitted, or whether what he gave was new evidence. The Duchess of Sussex won the original case with a Summary Judgment, which means the case never actually went to trial, so it's possible Kanuf's statement was originally obtained in preparation for this.
At the end of the Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary, a representative for Knauf issued the following statement in regards to the claims that he'd provided the character witness unecessarily.
'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.'