It has also been revealed that honors within the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) are given independently of Downing Street and are the King's gift. As a result, critics of Meghan and Harry believe that the monarch exposed the duchess' alleged bullying of palace staff by approving William's decision to honor Knauf.
Knauf is a former communications aide at Kensington Palace and played a key role in shaping the media narrative surrounding Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle during some of the most difficult years faced by the royal family in the past two decades. He worked in a number of high-profile communications roles in London before joining the royal household, where he eventually became the right-hand man of the then-Cambridges, William and Kate, at Kensington Palace.
During his time with the royals, Knauf published important press releases, including a November 2016 rebuke of racist reporting by the media about Meghan. However, things appeared to sour in 2018 when it was revealed that he had raised concerns about the duchess bullying staff members.
When William and Harry split their staff, Knauf stayed with the Cambridges and became an adviser before moving on to head their charitable foundation. In 2021, Knauf provided evidence to the British High Court regarding Meghan's privacy lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday newspaper. His evidence caused embarrassment for Meghan, who apologized for misleading the court over statements saying she had not collaborated with the authors of the Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom.
