Confidant of the prince

“Never seen William so down and out”

The double cancer diagnosis plunged Prince William into a major crisis. A close confidant had never seen him so worried and devastated.(Bild: www.PPS.at)

An insider spills the beans! Jason Knauf, one of Prince William's closest confidants, has revealed in an interview how badly the heir to the British throne has suffered under the cancer diagnoses of his wife, Princess Kate, and his father, King Charles. "I've never seen him so devastated."

"Absolutely awful" - this is how Knauf describes the conversation with William in which he informed him of Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis. Just a few weeks after his father's cancer diagnosis was announced. "I've never seen him so devastated," said the former advisor on the TV program "60 Minutes Australia", who is still close friends with William.

With his father battling cancer, Prince William has had to face the reality that he may become king sooner than expected - possibly without Kate by his side. 

Worries and wild speculation
And it wasn't just the health worries that weighed on the prince. At the same time, wild conspiracy theories were circulating online - some of the speculation about Kate's absence in public was shocking.

"The problem was that all these crazy conspiracy theories were popping up on the internet - 'was she really ill? But they didn't want to say she had cancer yet because they hadn't told the children and were still thinking about how to tell the children," says Knauf.

Princess Kate as a fighter
The 43-year-old princess shared her diagnosis with the world in March 2024 and underwent chemotherapy. In January 2025, she received the relieving news that she was in remission. During a hospital visit in London, Kate spoke openly with other sufferers about the shock of such a diagnosis - and showed once again that she is there for others despite all the challenges.

Princess Kate and Prince William at the coronation of King Charles(Bild: www.VIENNAREPORT.at)

Bullying allegations and his role in the Sussex drama
Knauf was not only William and Kate's counselor, but also looked after Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan. He was the one who accused Meghan Markle of "bullying" younger staff. 

The Duchess of Sussex (43) has always denied that the bullying allegations against her are true and described them as an orchestrated smear campaign. In the interview, Knauf now explained that he would "change nothing" and "regret nothing".

Jason Knauf with the Sussexes in Ireland in 2018(Bild: Viennareport)

Wedding was a magical experience
When asked how he dealt with the public pressure following the email leak and the numerous accusations, Knauf said: "It's tough, but it's probably a good thing. You know someone who has helped others deal with the publicity - sometimes you have to take your own medicine." You can't just choose the bright side of a job, he said. 

Before the conflicts, he had spent a "wonderful time" with the Sussexes and remembered their 2018 wedding in Windsor in particular as a "magical experience".

You can tell that Knauf really is an insider by the fact that he also spoke to William about his beard. "I love it, I think it's great, I've spoken to him about it, or tried to speak to him about it, and he just said: 'He's there, I've got a beard, no more conversation'. The most important thing, however, is that Kate likes him. "If she didn't like him, he wouldn't be there. I can tell you that."