• Prince William honored his former aide Jason Knauf for providers to the royal household on Wednesday.
• Knauf beforehand labored for William and Kate’s charity and for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
• In 2021, it was reported that Knauf accused Meghan of bullying palace employees members in 2018.

The Prince of Wales has awarded a prestigious honor to the royal aide who as soon as accused the Duchess of Sussex of bullying.

Jason Knauf — the previous CEO of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s charitable basis — was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order at an investiture ceremony on Wednesday at Windsor Citadel.

Knauf was included in King Charles’ first New 12 months Honours listing in December 2022, as Individuals reported on the time. However William was the one to award the royal aide with the dignity, presenting him with a medal at Wednesday’s ceremony, as pictures revealed by The Mirror present.

The Royal Victorian Order was created by Queen Victoria in 1896 and is granted by the reigning monarch to award people for service to the royal household, in response to the web site for the Cupboard Workplace, a division of the UK Authorities.

Knauf was CEO of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Royal Basis from 2019 till January 2022, Insider beforehand reported. Earlier than that, he was a communications secretary for William and Kate, Prince Harry, and likewise for Meghan Markle when she joined the household in 2018.

Knauf’s rift with Meghan turned public shortly earlier than the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in March 2021. 

Days earlier than the interview aired, Buckingham Palace introduced it might examine claims that Meghan bullied some members of employees after The Instances of London reported that Knauf had filed a criticism about Meghan to the palace’s HR division in October 2018.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex denied the claims on the time, calling it a “calculated smear marketing campaign primarily based on deceptive and dangerous data” in an announcement issued to The Instances.

“The Duchess is saddened by this newest assault on her character, significantly as somebody who has been the goal of bullying herself and is deeply dedicated to supporting those that have skilled ache and trauma,” the spokesperson stated on the time. “She is decided to proceed her work constructing compassion world wide and can preserve striving to set an instance for doing what is true and doing what is sweet.”

In June 2022, the palace stated it might not publish the findings of the investigation into the bullying allegations to guard the privateness of everybody concerned. 

Moreover, Knauf was concerned with Meghan’s lawsuit towards Related Newspapers. In 2020, the duchess sued the corporate over the misuse of personal data, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Information Safety Act 2008 after the Mail on Sunday — which is a part of the Related Newspapers group — revealed excerpts of a personal letter that she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle in 2018.

Knauf’s witness assertion included a textual content from Meghan which said she knew the letter may very well be leaked and requested him for recommendation relating to its contents, as proven in screenshots of a textual content alternate between Meghan and Knauf that had been made public as a part of the courtroom battle, revealed by the Mail On-line. Related Newspapers used the texts as proof to help its argument that Meghan anticipated the letter to be made public, as Insider beforehand reported.

In January 2022, Meghan received the lawsuit and was awarded £1 from the Mail on Sunday.

William has by no means publicly commented on the bullying claims towards Meghan or Knauf’s involvement with the Related Newspapers lawsuit. Nonetheless, Harry wrote in his memoir, “Spare,” that his brother had a unfavourable opinion of Meghan, as he referred to her as “tough,” “impolite,” and “abrasive” throughout an argument between the brothers in 2019.

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Prince of Wales, and Buckingham Palace didn’t reply to Insider’s request for remark.