[ad_1]
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mother, have been involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi photographers in New York.
The incident happened after Meghan and Harry had attended an awards ceremony, with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, in Manhattan on Tuesday (local time).
“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,” Harry’s 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.”
READ MORE:
* Meghan Markle and Prince Harry help Texas Women’s shelter after storm damage
* Prince Harry and Meghan Markle expecting second child
* Prince Harry and Meghan Markle receive apology for ‘intrusive’ photos taken of son Archie
* Prince Harry and Meghan Markle call police after drones fly over their Los Angeles home: Report
Meghan had earlier encouraged women to find inspiration to fight for equity as she accepted the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Award, with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, at the awards ceremony.
“It’s never too late to start,” Meghan said at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan. “You can be the visionary of your own life… There is still so much work to be done.”
Video taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed Harry and Meghan exiting the ballroom and getting into an SUV as crowds of pedestrians and photographers gawked.
Selcuk Acar/Getty Images
Harry and Meghan leaving the awards ceremony in New York prior to the car chase.
Half a dozen cars with blacked out windows then followed the royals, driving dangerously close to their vehicle and putting their lives in danger, Harry’s spokesperson said.
Chris Sanchez, a member of Harry and Meghan’s security team, told CNN the “chaotic” incident could have ended with fatalities.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” Sanchez said.
“The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine [carrying the couple] and started taking pictures until we were able to get out.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters he hadn’t received a full briefing about the incident yet, but he called it “reckless and irresponsible” for anyone to be chasing people in vehicles in the densely populated city, and said that “two of our officers could have been injured”.
“It’s clear that the press, the paparazzi, they want to get the right shot,” Adams said. “But public safety must always be at the forefront.”
Adams said he expected to have a full briefing later in the day. “I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high speed chase,” he added.
The incident instantly drew comparisons to the death of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a 1997 car crash in Paris while being chased by photographers.
“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how his mum died,” Adams said.
“It would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and for something to have happened to them as well.”
Prince Harry is currently involved in multiple legal disputes with the British tabloid press, including allegations of phone hacking and the unlawful gathering of information.
Earlier this week, a lawyer representing Harry told a London court that he should be allowed to challenge a government decision that denied him the ability to pay for police protection while in the country.
The pair stepped down from royal duties and moved to the US in 2020 – a move they said was partly due to harassment from UK tabloids.
[ad_2]