William awards honour to ex-royal aide who called Meghan a bully

Prince William handed the honour to Jason Knauf at Windsor Castle (Picture: PA)

Prince William has given a top honour to a former staff member who made a bullying complaint about Meghan Markle.

Jason Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order at Windsor Castle today.

Photos show the heir to the throne smiling as he hands the gong to his ex-senior advisor.

Mr Knauf worked for both William and Kate and Harry and Meghan over the years. He was the Sussexes’ communications secretary for a while and, in October 2018, accused the duchess of being a bully in an email.

He sent it to William’s then-private secretary and claimed Meghan had driven out two personal assistants and was allegedly undermining the confidence of a third.

‘I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,’ Knauf wrote, after first raising concerns with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR, the Times reported.

‘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 said, before adding: ‘I remain concerned that nothing will be done.’

Jason Knauf said working for William and Kate was ‘the honour of a lifetime’ (Picture: PA)

Meghan’s legal team have vehemently denied the allegations and claimed the they were part of an orchestrated smear campaign ‘used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative’.

Before joining the royal household, American-born former corporate affairs executive Mr Knauf worked for a range of institutions – from the office of the New Zealand prime minister, to HM Treasury and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

He became the communications secretary to the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in 2015.

Following this, he led the press team for Meghan and Harry and later became a senior adviser to William and Kate.

When the news of the honour came out last year, Mr Knauf said: ‘Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales was the honour of a lifetime.

‘Receiving this recognition means more to me than I can say. I am incredibly grateful.’

Mr Knauf stepped down from his role with the Royal Family at the end of 2021.

At the time, William and Kate said they were ‘immensely grateful for his hard work and commitment’.

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