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The royal staffer behind the sensational allegations that Meghan Markle bullied her assistants is a Texas native who worked his way into a trusted job in the British monarchy.
Jason Knauf, who joined Kensington Palace in 2015, reportedly filed the harassment complaint against Markle that has caused a firestorm in the UK, as it was leaked publicly just days before her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Knauf had been known as a trusted staffer, who had gotten into such good graces with Markle and Prince Harry he was asked to help her even with her intimate letters to her family.
Before rising to be a well-connected courtier, Knauf, had made a life for himself across the pond, working for the Royal Bank of Scotland and British Treasury. Before that, he was a press secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 2007 to 2008.
One of his first jobs in the royal family was working with Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry on the trio’s hugely successful Heads Together campaign, which highlighted mental health.
Before reportedly blowing the whistle on Meghan, he was helping to defend her. In 2016, he was the one who released a statement on behalf of Prince Harry decrying the press treatment of his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle.
“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,” the statement thundered.
He attended Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding, and afterward became the former “Suits” star’s press secretary.
Meghan presumably felt so comfortable with Knauf, she asked for his feedback on a private letter she sent to her father.
However, a scant two months later, Knauf called out Meghan for allegedly being a boss from hell.
According to The Times of London, the royal press secretary emailed Prince William’s private secretary, Simon Case, in 2018, complaining that Meghan was “bullying” junior staff in the palace.
“I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,” he wrote to Case, after first raising concerns with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR, the Times said.
“The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights,” he continued. “She is bullying Y (name removed) and seeking to undermine her confidence.”
He added ominously, “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.”
Prince Harry reportedly met with Knauf and begged him not to go forward with the complaints, a claim that Prince Harry has refuted.
Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday that they would be launching a probe into the allegations.
A month after reporting the allegations of bullying, he handed in his notice.
But in March 2020, Knauf resumed working for Kensington Palace, becoming the chief executive of the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation.
That was months after Harry and Meghan announced that they would be stepping down from royal duties.
The flurry of Meghan Markle press comes days before her hotly anticipated sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, in which she describes royal life as “almost unsurvivable.”
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