Prince William’s former private secretary has been under pressure to quit the British government amid allegations of leaks in a saga that echoes criticisms made by Prince Harry.
Simon Case is a name little known in America but that has significant resonance among the small collection of diehard fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle due to his time at Kensington Palace.
He was Prince William‘s most senior aide during the era in which the royal rift took hold and was the recipient of an email accusing Meghan of bullying.
Simon Case (center) flanked by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a composite image. Case is under pressure to resign from government six years after he was at the center of the royal rift.
Dominic Lipinski – Pool/Getty Images/Leon Neal/Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage
More recently though, he is facing calls to resign as head of the civil service in the U.K. amid allegations he has been leaking to the media, rumors the Cabinet Office told Newsweek were “categorically untrue.”
The saga may be noted in Montecito, California, in particular, due to the specific defense Prince Harry offered of Meghan in his memoir Spare.
Simon Case and the Meghan Markle Bullying Allegations
Meghan was accused of bullying two PAs out of the royal household and making life difficult for a third staff member in an internal email.
The message was sent by Jason Knauf, then Kensington Palace communications secretary, to Simon Case, who was Prince William’s private secretary at the time.
That alone has given Case a special place in the hearts of Meghan and Harry supporters who are convinced the palace was out to get the Sussexes.
However, Harry advances a more subtle form of the argument in his book, Spare: “More than once a staff member slumped across their desk and wept.
“For all this, every bit of it, Willy blamed one person. Meg. He told me so several times, and he got cross when I told him he was out of line.
“He was just repeating the press narrative, spouting fake stories he’d read or been told. The great irony, I told him, was that the real villains were the people he’d imported into the office, people from government, who didn’t seem impervious to this kind of strife—but addicted to it.
“They had a knack for backstabbing, a talent for intrigue, and they were constantly setting our two groups of staff against each other.”
That passage of the book is placed chronologically during the summer of 2018, which is around the time Case first moved from government jobs to work for William at Kensington Palace, reportedly that July.
From Harry’s book alone, there were clearly problems that predated his arrival, including arguments between the couples at the time of Harry and Meghan’s wedding that May.
However, the prince also offered a somewhat unflattering portrait of a palace aide he nicknamed “the fly” who is widely believed to be Case.
“The Fly,” he wrote, “had spent much of his career adjacent to, and indeed drawn to, s***.
“The offal of government, and media, the wormy entrails, he loved it, grew fat on it, rubbed his hands in glee over it, though he pretended otherwise. He strove to give off an air of casualness, of being above the fray, coolly efficient and ever helpful.”
Harry’s rebuttal to the bullying allegations against Meghan is therefore substantially that William imported a toxic working culture from the world of British politics.
Allegations Simon Case Leaked Against Government
Pressure on Case to resign early as cabinet secretary and allegations he is behind leaks from the heart of government have been growing in the U.K.
In particular, newspapers have described conflict between him and new Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray.
A headline in The Daily Telegraph read: “Head of Civil Service expected to resign amid tensions with Sue Gray—Simon Case, long tipped to quit next year, is understood to be stepping down next month.”
The Guardian reported anger during meetings of the Labour government about leaks while an Evening Standard headline read: “No 10 backs top civil servant Simon Case following reports of anger over leaks.”
Meanwhile, David Yelland, a former editor of The Sun newspaper, wrote on X: “It is becoming clear Simon Case in the problem – all this chaos will end when we have a new Cabinet Secretary and remember that Sue Gray’s report exposed his failings…. why is he still there? Why is he not policing the leaks? Weak! Useless!”
A Cabinet Office spokesperson told Newsweek the allegation about leaks was “categorically untrue” and added: “We take the unauthorized disclosure of information very seriously and take appropriate action where necessary.”
A No. 10 spokeswoman also told British political correspondents on September 17 that Starmer was satisfied Case was not the source of the leaks and added: “The Cabinet Secretary remains focused on delivering for the Prime Minister and the work of the Government and working closely with the Prime Minister and Cabinet.”
Whether the allegations are fair or not may be secondary in Harry and Meghan’s minds to the simple fact he is again being accused of presiding over a toxic culture.
Some have been urging Starmer to hire a replacement from outside the civil service in an effort to break the mold, The Guardian reported.
This is also not the first time Case has been under pressure to quit after questions were raised over WhatsApp messages he sent within government during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Conservative Party was in power.
Whether the bullying allegations against Meghan were fair or not, the couple will no doubt take comfort from the knowledge they are not the only ones to raise a similar concern about Case.
And fans have been quick to spot the comparison, with one recently writing on X: “Those of us who watched Simon Case terrorize Harry and Meghan on instructions from Prince William, aren’t surprised that he is leaking.”
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
