Prince William has a new member of staff

Prince William has selected Jason Knauf to lead his environmentalism project after the former royal aide accused Meghan Markle of bullying.

The claims against the Duchess of Sussex came to light four years ago and alleged she reduced staffers to tears when she lived at Kensington Palace. Meghan has vehemently denied the allegations, with many of her employees speaking out to support her.

Now, Jason has been appointed as the next CEO of the Earthshot Prize by the board of trustees. His new role comes after the current CEO Hannah Jones announced she would be stepping down from the role on Thursday.

William released a statement to announce Jason’s new role. “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 said.

Jason Knauf has been given a new role by Prince William (Image: Getty Images)
Jason, who has been a board member of The Earthshot Prize since 2022, took to LinkedIn to celebrate his appointment. “It is an honour to be appointed as CEO of The Earthshot Prize,” he wrote.

Jason added, “Thank you to the Board of Trustees for placing their faith in me to lead this very special organization. And thanks to Hannah Jones for her leadership over four remarkable years and for her support during this transition.”

Jason gained widespread attention after he alleged he first witnessed Meghan bullying staff in 2018 after he joined the Sussexes on a trip. He filed a complaint against Meghan at the time, but the claims weren’t made public until three years later.

“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,” Knauf allegedly wrote in his complaint.

He previously made a complaint about Meghan Markle (Image: getty)
He continued, “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.”

Meghan issued a statement denying the allegations at the time. Her representative said she was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.”

They also suggested it was a “calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.” Recently, Meghan has rubbished the bullying claims as she spoke about the strong bonds she has formed with her employees at Netflix.

The former Suits actress spent hundreds of dollars on personalized gifts for her Netflix crew once filming had wrapped on With Love, Meghan. She said there had been a positive atmosphere on set.

The Duchess of Sussex said the experience felt “communal” and revealed she tried to encourage crew members to participate in the show. “It feels as though we’re just spending time together, which is what it ended up being,” Meghan said.

Speaking to People Magazine, she added, “I’d make a recipe and say, ‘Everyone try this,’ and there are certain dishes where you just watch everyone flock in. I’d say, ‘We’ve run out of spoons!’ It ended up feeling so communal, and that’s the spirit of the show.”

And Meghan isn’t the only one who praised the atmosphere on With Love, Meghan. Director Michael Steed said the mom-of-two made things “a lot of fun.”

He also described her as “friendly” and praised Meghan for creating a “comfortable environment.” He added, “Everyone was a pro all the way through. She’s a pro.”