James Holt worked for both Prince William and Prince Harry in Kensington Palace back in the day. At some point – circa 2017-18 – Holt became more of a staffer to Harry and Meghan, and he clearly took their side in all of the inter-office machinations against them. When the Sussexes left Salt Island in 2020, Holt quickly picked up and followed them to California, becoming one of a handful of “royal staff” to back the Sussexes even after the exit. Holt has been part of Archewell and their organization ever since, even stepping into the role as Executive Director of the Archewell Foundation. He also appeared in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan series. Well, now the Mail claims that Holt has possibly moved back to the UK. Holt is apparently also “liking” LinkedIn posts from Jason Knauf.
He is the royal aide who Prince Harry suggested was part of a Buckingham Palace plot to ‘gaslight’ and smear his wife by publicly accusing Meghan Markle of bullying Palace staff out of their jobs. But after the Duke of Sussex said he wanted reconciliation with his family, MailOnline can reveal that Harry and Meghan’s right-hand man James Holt has offered an olive branch to their apparent nemesis Jason Knauf.
Mr Holt, a British communications expert, has liked several Royal Family-related LinkedIn posts over the past week including praising Mr Knauf’s work with the Prince of Wales. He has also repeatedly celebrated the work of a senior aide to King Charles, Helen Cook, at a time when a deft diplomatic mission is needed to try to repair relations between the warring Windsors.
MailOnline understands Mr Holt may have recently moved back to the UK from California for family reasons – five years on from Megxit when he moved to North America with Meghan and Harry.
Jason Knauf, who is CEO of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, may have been surprised to see his Sussex counterpart saluting his work given what Meghan and Harry are said to think of him and his boss, the future king. Jason was once exceptionally close to the exiled couple. The New Zealander was one of just two people Harry told he was proposing to Meghan before they fell out over the Duchess’ alleged poor treatment of staff. He has been dubbed the ultimate ‘Sussex Survivor’ and he quit the royal household after accusing the Duchess of Sussex of mistreating two colleagues and undermining their confidence.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has always denied the allegations of bullying, which she described as an orchestrated smear campaign against her. Mr Knauf, who made the claims and stands by them, took to LinkedIn to hail London Climate Action Week and trail how his boss Prince William, the future king, was bringing together ‘visionary leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs, and investors to supercharge the rollout of solutions to our planet’s urgent challenges’.
James Holt was among those who ‘liked’ the post, which automatically shared it on his own feed. Days later James, Executive Director of The Archewell Foundation – the Sussexes’ charity – liked two posts by Helen King, assistant private secretary to Harry’s father King Charles III. He even ‘celebrated’ a post showing the monarch marking 25 years of the Royal Drawing School.
MailOnline has asked Mr Holt to comment. He declined, as did a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
But a source close to Mr Holt said that the King’s aide Helen Cook is an old friend and colleague who worked with in Downing Street. With regard to Mr Knauf, James was one of the Royal Foundation team that helped design Earthshot and he was being supportive of a good cause.
I’m not prepared to declare that there’s a snake in the grass, but if Holt really has returned to the UK, then it’s possible that he’s looking up old associates and perhaps looking for a new job. I feel like the Sussexes are finally in a place, this year, where they’re really putting together a team for all of their future endeavors, and maybe Holt isn’t part of that team? That’s just it though – if Holt had really left Archewell, THAT would be the gossip, that the Sussexes “lost” one of their most loyal staffers. I wonder if Holt is still ED of Archewell but he’s just telecommuting because he needs to be in the UK right now. And the LinkedIn stuff… I don’t know. I think it’s bad form, if only because the Mail gleefully reminded everyone of Jason Knauf’s sleaziness towards Meghan.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix.
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- James Holt – Executive Director – Archewell Foundation at the 5th the Invictus Games at Hofbad in The Hague. Featuring: James Holt Where: Den Haag, The Netherlands When: 19 Apr 2022 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
The fact that the Fail monitors Holt’s LinkedIn is giving “plus le roi” vibes to all these workers.
Whatever brings clicks to their drama. Jason thinks he’s currently untouchable.
Glancing at his history, it seems like something he has done and maintained since leaving the UK.
If he’s a part of the Sussexes comms etc it’s important to keep an eye on what’s being said and how things are being framed. It’s also diplomatic to keep as many of your interactions – esp on social media – as transparent and vaguely supportive. If only to provide further contrast with how you and your staff are treated.
Lastly. The IG are being held in the UK. Not a bad idea to start refreshing old contacts and inroads
These are his old work colleagues. He had been liking posts by KP and people that work at KP since 2021, it’s not a new thing. I think this is a non story.
He may just be liking posts for the people he knows. I left a toxic company earlier this year and still congratuled my former coworker on her promotion last month because she deserved it. Even though it’s a promotion at a not great company, she’s proud of her work and I wanted to celebrate her. He has been loyal to them for years and if he was moving on after a decade it wouldn’t be some oddity or proof of his disloyalty, even if the British media will try to frame it that way.
I don’t want to get into the mindset of you can’t talk to these people, because they talk to those people, because that’s pretty much what William does is it not? Harry and Meghan have never seemed to have a problem with all of the former Kensington Palace or Buckingham Palace staffers, because quite a few of them worked with them after they left. I’m sure he knows who he can trust, and I’m sure they know who they can trust.
Totally agree, Dee. If anyone has any doubts about James Holt, I suggest a rewatch of the Harry and Meghan series on Netflix. He shows he is on team Sussex throughout.
I often like things in order to be able to find them later. People use social media features for their own purposes, not just the intended ones.
Just nitpicking:
“the exiled couple” They were not exiled, they CHOSE to leave. Honestly, the re-writing of history really ticks me off. It makes the RF sound childish- you can’t leave, we are EXILING you!
Exiled is reminiscent of the old days of political dissenters leaving a country where they will be jailed. Leaving a city, state or country to live somewhere is else is called MOVING. These people are manipulative and weak minds fall for it.
Sometimes it’s “they quit their royal duties.” It depends on the flavor of the day.
The bigger story is that Holt is back in Blighty.😮😮
He’s by far the most prominent Archwell staff member/leader and is of front & centre in their projects.
He could simply have come back for family reasons. Or he misses Blighty, Lots of people who move abroad come back for that reason alone.
It’s disgusting how these newspapers spy on and stalk every Sussexes employee. Has anyone outside this stalker bubble seen if it’s true? And by what right is personal behaviour, if it has happened, publicly amplified in this way? It feels like state surveillance of innocent people by the Stasi or Gestapo to destroy the existence of the person under surveillance. These people should be held accountable. Unbelievable.
Came on here to say the same thing as you. They have a list of people they are constantly monitoring and its just deplorable. They want to harass anyone in the Sussex orbit. The constant goal is to isolate them from employees, other colleagues and friends. I imagine every time someone new enters their world they have to sit down and explain this. This is why alot of their friendships are private and I really admire those that have been public with their support..
🌻✨
Yes, it is. The rats work for Pravda and they have a hit list of who’s who in the Sussex orbit.
Harry has his own hit list. He keeps track of every single rat who’s written about him during the phone tapping days. He’s trying to turn the tables on them and he’s playing the long game.
I don’t think Harry has a heart full of thoughts of revenge, that’s not what he wants. I can forgive them everything, he said, except for one thing. I think he’s been through a lot of terrible things in this family too, including at the hands of his brother, but he has and always has had a great maturity – and a lot of wisdom that good King Harry has developed. He has found a woman he loves and who loves him. He has experienced great misfortune and is now experiencing great happiness. He is very wise and grateful, just like his wife. No room for revenge.
This seems like a total nonstory. he’s liking professional accomplishments/comments from people he used to work with, he’s not giving a standing ovation to Knauf. I don’t think there’s any way holt would be able to work at the palaces again and I dont think he wants to. It sounds like he’s back in the UK for personal reasons but is still ED of Archewell.
All of this too. Doesn’t he make high six figures at Archewell? He may be able to match that in the private sector in the UK but we all know the palace isn’t going to pay him anything close to that. Beyond the fact that they make him wear a hair shirt and humiliate him for years for the audacity of leaving.
Analyzing likes on linked in is pretty crazy. Linked in is viewed as the career version of Facebook and so people are more professional. Clicking like is basic politeness and it doesn’t mean anything beyond that.
We haven’t heard that James is no longer with Archwell. He’s been supporting and working with them for years. Maybe post-November, he said yeah I’m gonna head back to the uk. Who knows. Wish his family well. And Jason Knauf is a snake.
I don’t believe Harry and Meghan were ever close to Jason Knauf. Knauf always knew who his boss was and that was William not Harry. As the Holt liking Linkedin posts, I don’t think much about it. It would seem that a lot of ex-Palace staff do this on LinkedIn.
Actually I’ve had this with LinkedIn before! If you have previously liked *anything* from another person or group’s page, it keeps representing that you have *liked* new posts unless you untoggle that. In my friend’s feed it looked like I kept liking our old job’s posts even though I hadn’t been on LI for years and she asked my why I kept liking things.
If he did return to the UK it probably has a lot to do with the current state of our collapsing country, I know I would leave if I was here on any sort of visa or green card. I’ve liked posts where I don’t particularly care for the person who posted, it’s not a major thing that the fail is trying to make it into. He may be working in Britian for the Sussex’s they do have employees on that island also.
UK is really no better. Especially for employment prospects!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😢😢
I’d just like to clarify that contrary to the news article, Knauf is American, not a New Zealander. He studied at one of our Unis and spent some time as a politician staffer (ironically in a Labour govt) before heading to the UK.
We have our embarrassment cup full thanks to Dan Wootton.
I’m in the camp who believes the part about returning to the UK for family reasons—maybe a sick parent or sibling, and maybe only temporarily. But also, five years is a decent amount of time to work anywhere, and maybe he’s ready to return home, or he doesn’t like the Sussexes’ new comms team, or something. So just as a thought experiment, if I were moving back to the city where I once worked, and now looking for a new job, I’d be buttering up old contacts to make sure they say nice things about me when a potential new employer calls for references, and to network.
Why does the UK media insist on calling JK a New Zealander? He isn’t. At all. He was born and raised in the US and didn’t move out of the US until he was an adult. The continuous pushing of this is so fucking weird.
Honestly, I don’t think there is a story there. Maybe his work is different, but I’m pretty sure he still works for the Sussexes as they have growing interest in the UK. Maybe I’m a pessimism, but the way things are going in the US, Harry may wants to move his family out of the US for a time.
Perhaps he’s on a leave of absence to deal with personal matters? If there is no new personnel listed for Archewell, then it’s DM stirring up poop again. It’s summer, and there will be little to write about from the Windsors.
In the Netflix docu he was fanboying so hard over the royal family 😂 Just skip to episode 2 or 3 and you’ll hear him glazing them!
I mean, he was working for H&M when they were in BRF. Why would he work in the palace if he wasn’t a royalist? H&M were never anti-royalist or anti-monarchists. They just wanted to work outside of the system since they didn’t want to get abused forever. I am surprised they got any palace employees, because at the end of the day, it is brave for any british person to work for H&M when they are enemy no 1 in the eyes of the current King and the future King.
It really gives the impression that they really are monitoring and spying on the Sussexes and the people who work for them. If this is nothing new from Holt, then they are trying to go after the Sussexes again through their organization and employees, because they are very bothered by AsEver. The press or whoever are watching everything they do. It’s so creepy. Also weird stuff happening with Sentebale as well. Got this very long email asking for a donation but was full of explanations of the Charity commission with that back stabber still in charge. These people are stalking everything and everyone associated with the Sussexes.
I wouldn’t give $$ to Not-a-Dr Sophie Chandauka through Sentebale because she’ll just glom on to it herself, or hand it to Willy’s man Iain Rawlinson for some nebulous “consulting” work. Sounds like Sophie has been completely misrepresenting the reason the former Sentebale board members and co-founders resigned in unison.
UMHO this being a news item is weird.
Fire him.
They did mention that he is returning because of family matters. So he didn’t quit for reasons having to do with the Sussexes or the Archwell Foundation.
So the tabloids even follow the staff accounts an Linkedin? Gosh, they are really stalking people that have anything to do with the Sussexes.