Royal aide reveals how there was nearly a major mishap with Princess Charlotte's birth announcement

A former royal aide has revealed how there was nearly a major mishap with the announcement of the birth of Princess Charlotte. Jason Knauf, who has worked closely with the Prince and Princes of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has shared insights about the royal family as part of a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia.

The former press secretary, who was dubbed one of William's 'close confidants', revealed he was one of the very first people to know the details of Charlotte's birth on May 2, 2015. The Australian channel described how Mr Knauf was told about the arrival of the couple's only daughter even before their families found out the happy news.

Painting a picture of the scene at the time, he recalled: 'You have hundreds and hundreds of journalists and photographers from all over the world that arrived in London, camping outside trying to get their spot. 'Meanwhile behind the scenes you have a very pregnant member of the royal family and her husband who are trying to get their lives organised for the arrival of their child.'.

But news of her birth almost leaked two hours before the palace were ready to announce it, after Jason realised he must have 'dropped' the press release somewhere on the street. The release had contained valuable details including the time of birth and how much Charlotte weighed.

A beaming Prince William and Kate pose with their newborn Princess Charlotte on 2 May 2015. Jason Knauf has worked closely with the Prince and Princes of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But miraculously, none of the media managed to get hold of it and the announcement went ahead as planned.

Jason recalled: 'We weren't going to announce it for another couple hours and I had this piece of paper to go write this press release. '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.'.

He added: 'We managed to get through, but not announce it. But somewhere on that street the entire time 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.'.

Mr Knauf also revealed how Prince William was the 'lowest' he'd ever since after receiving news 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 her of 'bullying' younger staff, has shared insights from the royal family as part of a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia. The Duchess has always denied the allegations.

Mr Knauf worked for William and Kate from 2015 and 2021 and remained close with the family afterwards. The Princess of Wales is pictured with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, during Trooping the Colour in June. Kate was pictured cradling her newborn daughter outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in 2015.

Mr Knauf is pictured with the Princess of Wales during a visit to Scotland in 2021. In 2024, both Kate and Charles were diagnosed with undisclosed forms of cancer - with Prince William later reflecting on how the year was 'brutal' for the family. At the same time, wild conspiracy theories took over social media about Kate's whereabouts as she took time out from the public eye.

Speaking in the documentary, Jason told how William was the 'lowest' he'd ever seen him, as he was informed about Kate's illness during a personal phone call with the prince. He said: '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.

'But the problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background online. '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.'.

The 60 Minutes Documentary, Where There's A Will, speaks to journalists and royal aides about the future King of England, and explores what sort of leader he will likely be. Jason Knauf initially worked as joint head of communications for both Harry and Meghan and William and Kate.

Prince Harry and Prince William are pictured speaking to Meghan Markle in 2018 on the Buckingham Palace balcony. He subsequently made serious allegations about Meghan’s alleged bullying of junior staff before quitting. The Duchess has always denied the allegations.

The royal aide became a special adviser to William and Kate and then chief executive of the Royal Foundation, the charitable arm of their official operations. During his time working for the couple, Mr Knauf helped start William’s high-profile Earthshot environmental awards and the couple’s Heads Together mental health initiative, as well as undertaking 36 foreign trips with them.