Royal aide who accused Meghan Markle of bullying, joins Prince William in a new role

Jason Knauf , a former royal aide to Prince William , Princess Catherine, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , has joined hands with Prince William in a new mission.

The Earthshot Prize , launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation , recently announced Jason Knauf as the company's new CEO. The company shared a statement on April 17, explaining that the current CEO, Hannah Jones will be departing the post this summer after four years of service. Knauf will be joining the post immediately and will work with Jones in the coming months of transition.

"As the first CEO, Hannah has built The Prize into a world-class organization with an incredible team delivering an annual Prize, powering a platform for speeding solutions to scale, and catalyzing a movement to encourage young people, spark imaginations and infuse urgent optimism across the world," said Prince William in a statement.

"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," he added.

Jason Knauf was a royal aide
Knauf was previously the communications secretary for Prince Williams, Prince Harry and their wives, before the couples split their offices. He worked as Kensington Palace Communications Director before stepping into the role of the CEO of the Royal Foundation till 2021. He still continued his participation at William's Earthshot Prize as a part of the board of trustees.

Jason Knauf accused Meghan Markle of bullying
Knauf had previously filed a complaint accusing the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle of bullying. The October 2018 complaint claimed that she drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of the third staff member.
Meghan had completely refuted the claims with a spokesperson for her and Prince Harry saying that she was, "saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good."

Buckingham Palace investigated the issue and improved HR policies for staff, but the details of these were not publicly disclosed.

What is the Earthshot Prize?
The Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William in 2020 as a 10-year campaign that offers $1.3 million prizes in various tiers to innovators who develop new ideas. These tiers include Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate.