The palace aide who accused Meghan Markle of bullying royal staffers is saying goodbye to his role at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s charity foundation.
On Wednesday, Jason Knauf announced he is stepping down as the chief executive of The Royal Foundation at the end of the year. Before you jump to conclusions, the Texas native is said to be leaving for personal reasons related to a “planned international relocation” and hinted he was leaving on good terms. Knauf said in a statement to Hello!:
“Working with The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has been the privilege of my career. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I have had to support their leadership in the UK and internationally.”
Related: Expert Says Harry & Meghan’s Baby Girl Will Be ‘Great Unifier’ For Royal Family!
Hmm… perhaps he was fed up with the drama, too?? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also issued a polite message for their soon-to-be-former employee, noting:
“Jason has been an integral part of our team since 2015. We are immensely grateful for his hard work and commitment, both at The Royal Foundation and previously as our Communications Secretary. Since taking over as Chief Executive, Jason has driven positive change, making our vision for our charitable work and the causes that matter most to us a reality. We are sad to see him go but wish him all the very best in his future career.”
You know, the basic response.
The news comes after a report from The Times revealed Knauf was the one to make a complaint against the Duchess of Sussex for allegedly mistreating staff members — which came out just a few days before Prince Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview. The supposed HR email 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* was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y. I remain concerned that nothing will be done.”
We are still waiting for an update, mind you!
Since then, Markle has firmly denied the allegations and deemed they were nothing more than an attack on her character. Even more so, many believed the reports were released to drum up negative press and discredit the couple ahead of their Oprah conversation. A source for the Sussex crew told Harper’s Bazaar at the time:
“Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of the Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet. It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining the duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and the duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years.”
Nevertheless, the leaked email launched an internal review into the former actress’ interactions with employees, and they even hired independent external investigators to handle the situation. It’s unclear if they got to the bottom of what happened or not. Again, we are still waiting for them to tell the world something about the inquisition findings.
While Jason is moving on from Buckingham Palace, he will most likely still have some communication with members of the royal family while the investigation continues. He can’t escape the institution that easily!
[Image via WENN/Avalon & John Rainford/WENN]
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