The curtain has been pulled back on Prince William’s heartbreaking reaction when he found out that the Princess of Wales and King Charles had both been diagnosed with cancer.
Jason Knauf, who was formerly Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s press secretary before he accused the Duchess of ‘bullying’ younger staff — claims she then denied — shared a few details about the royal family in a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia.
Highlights
- Prince William was devastated by Kate Middleton and King Charles' cancer diagnoses.
- Kate's chemotherapy announcement sparked conspiracy theories online.
- Jason Knauf revealed a leak mishap before Princess Charlotte's birth announcement.
He reflected on the hit they all felt when Charles and Kate Middleton revealed they had undisclosed forms of cancer, specifically the latter’s husband.
Prince William was "lowest" he'd ever been after knowing that his wife and father had both been diagnosed with cancer
Image credits: Chris Jackson / Getty
“Within a couple of weeks if you’re Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn’t believe it. It was awful, absolutely awful. It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him,” he shared.
To make matters worse, rumors started circulating around on the Internet as they speculated on what Kate was doing after she retreated from the public eye.
“But the problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background online,” Jason continued.
“Was she really ill? But they didn’t want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn’t told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.”
Even after Kate came out with an official confirmation that she was undergoing chemotherapy, the brutal theories continued despite being held accountable by many writers and social media posts.
Image credits: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
Image credits: 60 Minutes Australia
A few people on X said that the Princess’s video message was an AI-enabled deepfake, according to France 24.
“Sorry House of Windsor, Kate Middleton (and) legacy media — I’m still not buying what you’re selling,” read one post.
Others went on to scrutinize the 43-year-old’s facial features and raised questions on why a certain dimple wasn’t invisible.
Talk about having time on your hands.
On top of that, conspiracy theories regarding Kate were the main topic of conversation
Jason later went on to reveal a mistake he made that could’ve ended with the royal family having to deal with a disaster.
During the announcement of the birth of Princess Charlotte in 2015, the former royal aide said that Kate and William had informed him of their daughter very early on — even earlier than a few of their family members.
But two hours before the palace was ready to announce the exciting news to the rest of the public, it was leaked, and Jason realized he had to have dropped the press release papers somewhere on the street.
Image credits: Samir Hussein / Getty
Image credits: The Prince and Princess of Wales
As reported by Daily Mail, it had essential information such as time of birth and how much little Charlotte weighed.
“We weren’t going to announce it for another couple hours and I had this piece of paper to go write this press release,” he recalled.
“I’m still out there with hundreds of journalists trying to have a game face, and then I couldn’t find the piece of paper, and I think I had dropped it somewhere on the street.”
Miraculously, it seemed like no one got their hands on it. If they did, it didn’t make it to the media.
Jason Knauf sat down to discuss his experience in a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia
Jason stated, “We managed to get through, but not announce it. But somewhere on that street the entire was a piece of paper that said there had been a little princess born, what time and how much she weighed.
“It was one of those things, like, heart in mouth until we got to the announcement and I got through it. I never found it and neither did any of the media though. So that’s all that really mattered.”
Image credits: The Prince and Princess of Wales
Jason was a loyal staff member for William and Kate from 2015 and 2021 and even now, he remains close friends with the family.
His departure marked the end of his journey with the royals, but he moved abroad soon thereafter.
According to the abovementioned outlet, he played a key role in helping start William’s Earthshot environmental awards as well as the couple’s Heads Together mental health initiative, and accompanied them for 36 foreign trips.
To him, this position marked an incredibly important chapter in his life.
“Working for the Prince and Princess of Wales as the honour of a lifetime,” he said at the time. “Receiving this recognition means more to me than I can say. I am incredibly grateful.”
Sympathizes oozed from the public following Kate's announcement
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