Prince Harry, his wife, Meghan, and her mother were involved in a “near-catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi photographers after they attended an awards ceremony in New York, a spokesperson for the prince said on Wednesday.
The incident involved “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” in half a dozen cars with blacked-out windows driving dangerously and putting the lives of the couple and Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, in danger.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near-catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD [New York Police Department] officers,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were shaken by the incident but otherwise unharmed.
The New York Police Department said it had assisted the private security team protecting the couple.
“There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests in regard,” an NYPD spokesperson said.
‘I don’t think I would call it a chase,’ says taxi driver
The Washington Post quoted taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh, who said he drove the group and a security guard for around 10 minutes before returning to the police station from where he had picked them up at the security guard’s request.
“I don’t think I would call it a chase,” Singh was quoted as saying, adding that two vehicles had followed them and driven next to them, taking pictures and filming.
“I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They [the couple] were quiet and seemed scared, but it’s New York — it’s safe.”
Pictures that have since appeared on social media show Harry, Meghan and her mother sitting in the back of a New York taxi, which their spokesperson said showed “a small glimpse at the defence and decoys required to end the harassment.”
Media reported the couple had switched to the taxi to try and shake off the photographers, after being pursued in the car they had left the Ziegfeld Ballroom in.
‘Highly intrusive’
The prince has long spoken out about his anger about press intrusion, which he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed when the car she was riding in crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
The couple’s spokesperson said the chase on Tuesday, after leaving the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, could also have been fatal and involved paparazzi driving on the sidewalk, running red lights and driving while taking pictures.
Those involved in the chase were confronted by police officers multiple times, according to the spokesperson.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he had received a briefing that two NYPD officers could have been injured in the incident.
“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how, how his mom died,” Adams told reporters. “And it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well.”
He said he would be given an in-depth briefing later, but that he found it hard to believe there would have been a two-hour high-speed chase.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says his city isn’t like small-town traffic, and speeding anywhere in it is dangerous because of its dense population. He also questioned the validity of claims that Harry and Meghan were in a high-speed car chase for two hours.
“If it’s 10 minutes, a 10-minute chase is extremely dangerous in New York City,” Adams said.
The Ms. Foundation for Women, the organizers of the awards ceremony where Meghan was honoured for her work, had no immediate comment.
The couple, who live in California with their two young children, had been staying at a private residence but had decided against returning there as they did not wish to compromise that individual’s safety, according to their spokesperson.
Prince Harry’s memoir was released officially today and is already setting sales records. Critics say the focus on the book’s salacious details has pushed aside any meaningful examination of its potential impact on the monarchy.
In his memoir Spare, the couple’s Netflix documentary series and TV interviews, he has railed against British tabloids invading his and his family’s privacy, and it was one of the main reasons that he and Meghan gave for stepping down from their royal roles in 2020 and moving to the United States.
The prince is currently involved in numerous court cases in London where he has accused papers of using unlawful methods to target him and his family. While papers reject nearly all his allegations, one publisher last week apologized for unlawfully seeking information about him in 2004.
He is also seeking to overturn a decision by the British government to take away his specialist police protection when he is in Britain.
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