There’s been plenty of chat about what kind of King Prince William will be, and now Jason Knauf—the man who once managed the royal’s public image through thick and thin—is putting his two cents in.
In a teaser clip for his revealing new interview with 60 Minutes Australia, the former palace insider praised the Prince of Wales’s character. Knauf—who once served as communications secretary for Prince William, Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry—said his former boss will “bring as much down-to-earth wisdom and connection” as he can once he becomes King.
The 60 Minutes Australia special, titled “Prince William’s Role of a Lifetime,” will focus on the father of three’s life and how he’s preparing for his eventual kingship. In the trailer, Knauf pointed out that in “every generation, the Royal Family has to reinvent the role for the generation that they serve”—something the Prince of Wales has already started doing.
Whether it’s playing football with local kids, answering the phone at a restaurant or recording a TikTok to get some students out of trouble for missing class, Prince William has shown a more relatable side in his interactions with the public in recent years.
The Prince of Wales shared some laughs at a workshop space in Scotland on Feb. 6.
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Jason Knauf is seen at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s May 2018 wedding.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Knauf said the prince will bring “down-to-earth wisdom” to his role as King.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“For a while now, William has been putting into action the way that he intends to do the job,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond recently told OK! magazine. “And that, as he now made clear, is royal with a small ‘r.’ You could say that the small ‘r’ also stands for relatable, because that is what he is showing himself to be.”
In the 60 Minutes Australia clip, Knauf—who went on to become CEO of the Royal Foundation before stepping down in 2022—is asked what he’d like the public to know about Prince William, and he replies, “Just what you see is what you get.”
In addition to his focus on environmental causes (Knauf currently serves a trustee for William’s Earthshot Prize), Prince William also plans to continue his crusade to eliminate homelessness in the U.K. once he’s on the throne.
As the trailer ends, a journalist is shown asking Knauf if he thinks Prince Harry’s “role could change once his brother is King,” but fans will have to wait until Sunday, Feb. 23 when the show airs to find out his answer.