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:
