Sussexes’ former PR chief rejects claims he gave evidence against Meghan at behest of Prince William

The Sussexes’ former head of public relations has rejected claims that he testified against Meghan in court ‘with the authority’ of Prince William.

Jason Knauf had worked as joint head of communications for both Harry and Meghan and the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

He subsequently made serious allegations about Meghan’s alleged harassment of junior staff before resigning and eventually becoming chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of his official operations. He left that position last year.

Much of the last episode of the Netflix documentary series is devoted to Meghan’s decision to take The Mail on Sunday, sister newspaper to the Daily Mail, to the High Court over its decision to publish a letter she had written to her father, Thomas Markle. .

The Duke of Sussex accused his brother, both pictured at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana, of yelling at him while discussing Megxit. Harry also opened up about the heartbreaking breakup from her.

During the newspaper’s appeal against summary judgment in the case, which was awarded to the Duchess, new evidence from Mr Knauf came to light about Meghan’s earlier claim in court documents that she did not know if, and to what extent, her communications team had also cooperated with the authors of Finding Freedom, a flattering biography of her and Harry.

He revealed that he had provided information to the writers ‘with his knowledge’ and had emails to prove it.

Meghan was forced to apologize in court, but said she had no intention of misleading him and simply “didn’t remember” the relevant exchanges at the time.

The Court of Appeal judge who dismissed the newspaper’s appeal described it as “at best an unfortunate lapse of memory on their part”.

In the Netflix documentary, Meghan’s lawyer, Jenny Afia, goes so far as to suggest that William would have given her authority for Mr Knauf to appear on the case, saying: “A senior member of the Duke of Cambridge’s team came forward to give this witness statement that was not necessary. And unfortunately, there is no way he could have done it without the authority of his bosses.”

Britain’s King Charles III reacts as he speaks to volunteers and staff members over a cup of tea during a tour of the London Community Kitchen facilities, in Harrow this afternoon. Both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have refused to comment on the Netflix series.

Remarkably, Harry and Meghan are also filmed by the crew at a friend’s apartment in November 2021 at the very moment they discover Mr. Knauf’s evidence has been revealed.

Meghan throws her hands up in frustration as she walks by, saying, ‘How do we deal with that?…How the hell?…Like…I…he’s your brother.’ Harry replies, ‘Yes.’ Meghan continues angrily: “He’s your brother, I’m not going to say anything about your brother, but he’s so obvious.” He is like … ‘

Harry chimes in: ‘It’s even more so that they’ll try to cover it up.

‘That’s why I’m now living in a different country. Because all communications teams try to outdo each other. But this is the contract.

The camera crew was even allowed to film the couple in the early hours of the morning waiting for the outcome of the appeal and then victoriously calling their friends.

Meghan said she asked Charles to walk her down the aisle after she told him she had lost her father, a nod to her estrangement from Thomas Markle.

Britain’s Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort unveil a commemorative plaque during a tour of the London Community Kitchen facility

Miss Afia goes on to claim that Mr Knauf’s witness statement “had no legal significance in the case whatsoever” but was brought forward because “the impact on Meghan’s reputation was potentially damaging”. But a representative for Knauf made it clear yesterday that he had been an unwilling participant in the case, as both sides approached him for evidence, and he only agreed to enter a statement in court for legal advice.

They said: ‘These claims are completely false. Both the Duchess of Sussex and Associated Newspapers asked Mr Knauf to provide evidence.

“The lawyer advised him that the evidence in his possession might be relevant, and he then turned it over directly to the court, remaining neutral in the process.”

Meghan’s lawyer responded to the statement, saying they ‘disputed’ this claim, adding: ‘The Duchess of her team did not ask Mr Knauf to provide a witness statement. His lawyers also do not believe that Mr. Knauf remained “neutral” in submitting a witness statement relied on by Associated Newspapers while working for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Mr Knauf later doubled down, with his representative saying: “The Duchess of Sussex and Jenny Afia have contacted Mr Knauf in writing and asked for his help in preparing their legal case.”