Prince William Honors Meghan Markle Bullying Accusation Aide

Prince William has handed an honor to a former aide who accused Meghan Markle of bullying palace staff.

The Prince of Wales performed the investiture ceremony that made Jason Knauf a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO). Knauf was named on King Charles III's first New Year Honours List and was given the award on May 10 at Windsor Castle.

Recipients of the Royal Victorian Order are, unlike most honors, chosen by the royal family themselves and not by the British government. It is not uncommon for staff members to receive them.

Knauf's inclusion on the list is striking, however, because of the role he played in one of the most explosive episodes in Meghan's time as a working royal—and it shows the royals are seemingly making no attempt to distance themselves from his characterization of Meghan as a bully.

Kristen Meinzer, former co-host of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast, told Newsweek: "It sends quite a message, William bestowing such high honors on a man who's most famous for taking sides against Meghan Markle.

"It also makes clear that Jason Knauf's allegiance was always first and foremost to William. As Harry said in his Netflix series, Knauf worked for William before, during, and after his time assisting the House of Sussex.

"And these newest honors scream that William is pleased with that work—however much it may have hurt his brother and sister-in-law."

Background to Jason Knauf's Email About Meghan

When a Kensington Palace communications secretary in 2018, Knauf wrote an email to a superior in which he stated that Meghan had bullied two PAs and expressed concern for a third member of staff.

Published by The Times in March 2021, it read: "I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X [name removed] was totally unacceptable."

"The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights," Knauf continued, "She is bullying Y [name removed] and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y [name removed]."

Knauf's message was leaked days before Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey was due to be broadcast in March 2021 and prompted allegations from her press team of a smear campaign.

Meghan's friend Janina Gavankar told ITV at the time: "I also know why someone had to leave and it was for gross misconduct."

Two months later, Prince Harry said in his mental health docuseries The Me You Can't See that the leak had left Meghan in tears.

"Before the Oprah interview had aired, because of [the media's] headlines, and that combined effort of the firm and the media to smear her, I was woken up in the middle of the night to her crying in her pillow because she doesn't want to wake me up because I'm already carrying too much," Harry said. "That's heartbreaking. I held her, we talked, she cried, and she cried, and she cried."

Meghan, Harry and a 'Poisoned' Atmosphere at the Palace

Prince Harry denied in his book, Spare that Meghan was a bully but described a "poisoned" atmosphere in the private office they shared with Prince William and Kate Middleton as far back as the summer of 2018, months before Knauf's email was sent and three years before it was leaked.

"Sides were taken," he wrote. "Team Cambridge versus Team Sussex. Rivalry, jealousy, competing agendas—it all poisoned the atmosphere. Nerves were shattering, people were sniping. In such a climate there was no such thing as constructive criticism. All feedback was seen as an affront, an insult.

"More than once a staff member slumped across their desk and wept. For all this, every bit of it, Willy blamed one person. Meg. He told me so several times, and he got cross when I told him he was out of line. He was just repeating the press narrative, spouting fake stories he'd read or been told."

It is unclear what press narrative Harry refers to as the stories branding Meghan "Duchess Difficult" came months later in December 2018.

Harry, by contrast, blamed "the real villains" staff brought in from the government by William, who "had a knack for backstabbing."

He wrote that he "never heard [Meghan] speak a bad word about anybody" and added: "She was also said to have driven our assistant to quit; in fact that assistant was asked to resign by Palace HR after we showed them evidence she'd traded on her position with Meg to get freebies."

Knauf's honor and the fact William personally presented it will likely be seen publicly as further evidence the Prince of Wales is backing his former aide over Meghan.

Whether the offense of seeking free goods from consumer brands is serious enough to warrant forcing an employee out of her job or not, the royals clearly are not about to cut ties with Knauf.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Update 05/11/23, 9:42 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Kristen Meinzer.