For many Australians, the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Sydney on October 14, 2018, was cause for great excitement.

Not only did it mark Harry and Meghan’s first major international tour since their wedding but it also came shortly after the Palace announced Meghan Markle’s pregnancy.

Back in the UK, however, Jason Knauf, the press secretary for both the Sussexes and the Cambridges, had started gathering a ‘dossier of distress’, according to royal author Robert Lacey.

Writing in his book Battle Of The Brothers, Mr Lacey said: ‘Numerous colleagues – women who [Mr Knauf] greatly respected – continued to bring him stories of what they had suffered at Meghan’s hands. ‘I can’t stop shaking,’ one aide had told a colleague in anticipation of an encounter with Meghan. 

‘Another reported that the prospect of confrontation with the duchess made her ‘feel sick’. ‘Emotional cruelty and manipulation’ were the words of a third – ‘which I guess could also be called bullying’.’

Upon hearing the accusations, William reportedly went ‘ballistic’. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had always been protective of their staff – buying them Christmas presents and treating them like family, a learned behaviour from Queen Elizabeth II.

‘This was a deep clash of philosophies,’ one royal correspondent told Mr Lacey, ‘with Meghan being used to a Hollywood service culture – getting exactly what she wanted whenever she wanted in that famous way that Harry said.’ 

Following a furious confrontation in the autumn of 2018, William started the process of dividing their royal households.

‘One dreads to imagine,’ writes Mr Lacey, ‘the atmosphere inside the aircraft cabin if the Duke and Duchess had been facing off across the aisle with the man responsible for compiling the ‘dossier of distress’ that had wrought so much havoc.’ 

So it is no surprise that Mr Knauf used a ‘perfect alibi’ to avoid accompanying the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their trip down under – despite his hand in planning it.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk along Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, in 2018

Jason Knauf, pictured on a tour in Canada with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, compiled a ‘dossier of distress’

By sheer coincidence, Mr Knauf had broken his collar bone while helping set up filming for William on his trip to Africa.

Confined to his room and with Harry and Meghan on the other side of the world, Mr Knauf set about cleaning up the mess from the brotherly confrontation.

His first priority? To get down the facts for the record.

So the seasoned press secretary sent an email to Prince William’s private secretary Simon Case on October 26, 2018, which was later leaked to the media.

In it, he detailed Meghan’s alleged ‘totally unacceptable’ treatment of staff on October 26, 2018.

‘I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,’ he wrote. ‘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 behaviour towards Y.’

Meghan has always denied the allegations of bullying, which she described as a ‘calculated smear campaign’ against her. 

The Sussexes visit the Sydney Opera House in 2018

Meghan speaks to a 97-year-old woman during a walkabout outside Sydney Opera House

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pose with Australia’s Governor General Peter Cosgrove and his wife Lynne Cosgrov

Meghan had been accused of bullying her staff prior to the Australia trip

It marked their first major international tour since they were married in May 2018

Aware that ‘none of his four principal clients could possibly be keen for the underlying truth of their disharmony to emerge’, according to Mr Lacey, Mr Knauf then set about handling the media.

Like magic, an article would appear in The Sunday Times on October 27, 2018, suggesting that William and Harry would be separating their royal households.

The move was logical, according to the respected Sunday paper, and there were no bad feelings on either side.

It read: ‘Marriage, family life and changing royal roles are leading the brothers to set up separate courts after Meghan gives birth.

‘The brothers have lent on each other and looked after each other since their mother died,’ a well-placed source told the paper. ‘But now they have their own families, they no longer rely on each other as before.’

‘When William becomes Prince of Wales,’ another helpful source told The Sunday Times’ royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah, ‘he will take on a lot of extra responsibility including the Duchy of Cornwall and all that entails.

‘Harry and Meghan have none of that and seem ambitious about forging their own paths.

‘If you have one private office trying to manage both, things get difficult.’ 

Mr Knauf (left) worked as press secretary for both the Sussexes and the Cambridges

Meghan and Harry laugh with a local surfing group on Bondi Beach in 2018

The event was organised by surfing community OneWave to discuss mental health issues

The Palace had recently announced Meghan was pregnant with Prince Archie

The Sussexes cheer on competitors taking part in a sailing event for the Invictus Games in Sydney Harbour 

Amid the bullying allegations fuelled by his leaked email, Mr Knauf would officially jump ship and become a special adviser to William and Catherine. 

Later, the royal aide would be made chief executive of the Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official operations.

During his time working for the couple, Mr Knauf helped start William’s high-profile Earthshot environmental awards and the couple’s Heads Together mental health initiative, as well as undertaking 36 foreign trips with them.

Although he left the foundation in 2021 to move abroad, Mr Knauf sang their praises: ‘Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales was the honour of a lifetime.’

In 2023, Mr Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle – showing how strong their relationship still is.

In February 2025, the ex-Palace staffer revealed he has ‘no regrets’ about the email leak in a bombshell interview with 60 Minutes Australia.

Reflecting on the media firestorm, he said: ‘I think it’s tough, but it’s probably quite good. You know someone who has been helping other people through how to deal with the public eye. You probably had to take your own medicine sometimes.’

He went in on what many viewed as a thinly veiled swipe at the Sussexes, saying: ‘You can’t choose just to take the fun stuff in any job. And that applies to the Prince and Princess as well as everyone else working for them. So I wouldn’t change anything.’

Mr Knauf is made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 2023

The former royal aide breaks his silence in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia

Two months later, eyebrows were raised among keen royal watchers when Kensington Palace announced Mr Knauf would be the next CEO of the Earthshot Prize.

Following the announcement in April 2025, Mr Knauf said: ‘I am honoured to be appointed as the next CEO of The Earthshot Prize and look forward to working with our exceptional team and incredible Earthshot community to advance our mission of urgent optimism for our planet.

‘The Prize has already achieved so much and the future potential is vast. I can’t wait to get started.’

The Prince of Wales added: ‘As we look ahead to the future of The Prize and the urgent work needed to scale more inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, I look forward to working with Jason to chart the course for the next five years of The Earthshot Prize and beyond.’