Embroiled in a royal scandal. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former aide, Jason Knauf, found himself in the middle of the drama during the final episode of the Sussexes’ docuseries.
Volume 2 of Harry & Meghan, which dropped on the streaming service Thursday, December 15, delved deeper into the couple’s allegations about the royal family. One such claim was that Prince William was somehow involved in the Daily Mail’s appeal after the Suits alum, 41, won a 2021 lawsuit against the outlet, which had published a personal letter from Meghan to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Knauf, who was then working for William, 40, “came forward to give his witness statement” in the appeal process, Meghan’s lawyer Jenny Afia alleged in the series — a move that deeply upset the “Archetypes” podcast host.
“Associated Newspapers predictably appealed,” the attorney recalled. “When we were just about to go the court of appeal, a senior member of [William’s] team [Jason Knauf] came forward to give his witness statement, which wasn’t required, and sadly there’s just no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses.”
Docuseries footage from the time showed Meghan and Harry, 38, reacting to the fallout — and blaming the Prince of Wales.
“Let me deal with it,” the Invictus Games founder told his wife about the situation.
“It’s your brother,” Meghan responded. “I’m not gonna say anything about your brother, but it’s so obvious.”
Harry, who agreed, went even further with the claim. “It’s even more obvious that they’ll try and cover it up,” he said, seemingly in reference to The Firm’s attempt to deflect by calling Knauf “a former aide of Meghan and Harry” instead of a current employee of William’s in the media.
“That’s why I’m now living in a different country. Because all the comms teams basically, like, try to outdo each other, but this is the contract,” he added. “The symbiotic relationship between the two institutions working the best that they can.”
Knauf, for his part, submitted a statement to Netflix in response to the allegations.
“These claims are entirely false. Mr. Knauf was asked to provide evidence by both the Duchess of Sussex and Associate Newspapers,” the message in the docuseries read. “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.”
Meghan’s legal team, however, “disputes this claim,” the duchess’ attorneys said in a statement in response. “Mr. Knauf was not asked to provide a witness statement by the duchess or her team. Nor do her attorneys believe Mr. Knauf remained ‘neutral’ by submitting a witness statement relied on by Associated Newspapers whilst working for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Knauf and his role in Meghan and Harry’s life:
Embroiled in a royal scandal. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former aide, Jason Knauf, found himself in the middle of the drama during the final episode of the Sussexes’ docuseries.
Volume 2 of Harry & Meghan, which dropped on the streaming service Thursday, December 15, delved deeper into the couple’s allegations about the royal family. One such claim was that Prince William was somehow involved in the Daily Mail’s appeal after the Suits alum, 41, won a 2021 lawsuit against the outlet, which had published a personal letter from Meghan to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Knauf, who was then working for William, 40, “came forward to give his witness statement” in the appeal process, Meghan’s lawyer Jenny Afia alleged in the series — a move that deeply upset the “Archetypes” podcast host.
“Associated Newspapers predictably appealed,” the attorney recalled. “When we were just about to go the court of appeal, a senior member of [William’s] team [Jason Knauf] came forward to give his witness statement, which wasn’t required, and sadly there’s just no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses.”
Docuseries footage from the time showed Meghan and Harry, 38, reacting to the fallout — and blaming the Prince of Wales.
“Let me deal with it,” the Invictus Games founder told his wife about the situation.
“It’s your brother,” Meghan responded. “I’m not gonna say anything about your brother, but it’s so obvious.”
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Harry, who agreed, went even further with the claim. “It’s even more obvious that they’ll try and cover it up,” he said, seemingly in reference to The Firm’s attempt to deflect by calling Knauf “a former aide of Meghan and Harry” instead of a current employee of William’s in the media.
“That’s why I’m now living in a different country. Because all the comms teams basically, like, try to outdo each other, but this is the contract,” he added. “The symbiotic relationship between the two institutions working the best that they can.”
Knauf, for his part, submitted a statement to Netflix in response to the allegations.
“These claims are entirely false. Mr. Knauf was asked to provide evidence by both the Duchess of Sussex and Associate Newspapers,” the message in the docuseries read. “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.”
Meghan’s legal team, however, “disputes this claim,” the duchess’ attorneys said in a statement in response. “Mr. Knauf was not asked to provide a witness statement by the duchess or her team. Nor do her attorneys believe Mr. Knauf remained ‘neutral’ by submitting a witness statement relied on by Associated Newspapers whilst working for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Knauf and his role in Meghan and Harry’s life:
Credit: Mark Large/ANL/Shutterstock
What Is Knauf’s Job?
Per his LinkedIn profile, the Texas native was the communications secretary for both the Sussexes and the Cambridges from February 2015 to March 2019. For the next seven months, he served as a senior adviser to William and Kate before becoming the CEO of The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — a position he held from September 2019 to January 2022.
While Knauf no longer appears to be employed by the royal family, he does serve on the board of the Earthshot Prize, the environmental advocacy organization cofounded by William.
Credit: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
What Was His Relationship With Meghan and Harry?
The Mission Overstory founder was “so happy that (Prince) Harry has found someone. Meghan is very smart and kind and as is Harry,” his mother, Joanne Knauf, told Texas outlet The Courier of Montgomery County in May 2018, right before the Sussexes exchanged vows. “There are some 60,000 media that have descended on the small private town of Windsor. I cannot imagine the tiny streets full of all of these people.”
The Virginia resident added that her son was also involved in some of the planning himself. “On the morning shows, you will see stages erected all around the castle — a lot of it has been under Jason’s direction,” she shared at the time.
Credit: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
What Is Knauf’s Background?
Jason is American and was born and raised in Texas until he was 5 years old, when he moved to Virginia with his mother. The former royal employee later went to college in New Zealand before moving to the U.K. when working for The Firm.
Credit: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
What Did Meghan and Harry Say About Him?
The Archewell cofounders were upset when finding out their former employee’s involvement in the appeal in the 2021 Daily Mail case.
“When we were just about to go the court of appeal, a senior member of [William’s] team [Jason Knauf] came forward to give his witness statement, which wasn’t required, and sadly there’s just no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses,” Meghan’s lawyer alleged in the Netflix special. “That’s why I’m now living in a different country. Because all the comms teams basically, like, try to outdo each other, but this is the contract,” Harry said in the episode. “The symbiotic relationship between the two institutions working the best that they can.”
Credit: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
How Did Knauf Respond to the Sussexes’ Allegations?
“These claims are entirely false. Mr. Knauf was asked to provide evidence by both the Duchess of Sussex and Associate Newspapers,” read the onscreen message from Jason’s camp. “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.”
However, Meghan’s team disputed the claim, writing, “Mr. Knauf was not asked to provide a witness statement by the duchess or her team. Nor do her attorneys believe Mr. Knauf remained ‘neutral’ by submitting a witness statement relied on by Associated Newspapers whilst working for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”
