Prince William has “rewarded” Jason Knauf, Meghan Markle’s former press secretary, who denounced her as a bully, with a powerful new job as boss of his Earthshot Prize.
A colleague of Knauf’s, who worked with him at the palace, told The Daily Beast: “Jason has proved his loyalty to William and has been rewarded. He was caught in the middle of a very nasty situation with Meghan and he just told the truth. Jason is one of the good guys.”
The move will be seen in some quarters as yet further evidence that William could care less about reconciling with his brother and his wife, who have always denied Knauf’s allegations of bullying and denounced them as a smear.
The allegations that Meghan had “bullied” staff were originally made by Knauf in a 2018 letter to his boss, Simon Case, who worked for William.
Knauf said Meghan drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third staff member, writing: “The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights.”
“She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence,” he continued. “We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y.”
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said at the time that Meghan was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”
The letter surfaced in the public realm just days before Meghan and Harry gave an interview to Oprah in which they accused members of the family of selling them out to the press and asking bigoted questions about the likely skin color of their unborn children.
The Sussex camp made clear they saw it as an attempt to harm Meghan’s credibility ahead of the interview.
In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia in February, Knauf doubled down on his actions, saying he had “no regrets” over his conduct.
Prince William, 42, said in a statement on Friday, “As we look ahead to the future of The Prize and the urgent work needed to scale more inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, I look forward to working with Jason to chart the course for the next five years of the Earthshot Prize and beyond.”
Knauf said: “I am honored to be appointed as the next CEO of The Earthshot Prize and look forward to working with our exceptional team and incredible Earthshot community to advance our mission of urgent optimism for our planet.”
“The Prize has already achieved so much and the future potential is vast,” he continued. “I can’t wait to get started.”
