December 8, 2022, brought the impending pile of controversies upon the British royals in the name of the Netflix docuseries about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Throughout the 6-episode limited series, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have thrown several accusations against British royals. However, it seems like the royal family keeps their loyal, close, no matter what.

The new year for the royal family is the time to conduct their ritual of ceremonial honors. The monarchy apparently offers honorary rewards to those who have done exceptional work for the royal family, now led by King Charles III. Among many, one person to make to the list might come shocking to you. A former royal aide, who filed a complaint against the Duchess of Sussex, accusing her of bullying himself and the staff, is apparently recognized for his service to the monarchy.

British King offered the New Year Honor to an ex-royal aide who accused Meghan Markle of bullying

After spending seven years working for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and later the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the king honored Jason Knauf with the title of Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO). He retired at the end of 2021 as the chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation, ending his tenure with the royal family.

Notably, in an apparent effort to get Buckingham Palace to defend employees, he sent an email expressing his concerns about Meghan to William’s then-private secretary while serving as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s communications secretary in October 2018. The Duchess’s legal team vehemently refuted the accusations made by him.

Furthermore, in the recent Netflix documentary series, Meghan’s attorney asserted the former staffer was unable to testify in the duchess’ copyright case against a newspaper publisher “without the authority of his supervisors.” She also sued the outlet for publishing bits of her private letter with the consent of its boss. And although Meghan Markle came out victorious, ANL appealed to go through the trial again as evidence Knauf provided could suggest something else. However, the court did not listen and gave a decision in favor of the duchess.

In the last episode of the series, Prince Harry also revealed that the royal family even tried to hide the aide’s association with Prince William.

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