Human Interest

Prince Harry, Meghan involved in “near catastrophic” car chase by paparazzi

London, May 17 (EFE).- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle – and Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, became involved in a high-speed multi-car chase with paparazzi in pursuit in New York City on Tuesday night, a chase that their spokesperson claimed could have had a “castrophic” ending.

The spokesperson said that the couple were pursued by a number of of “highly aggressive paparazzi” seeking photos of them after they left the Women of Vision Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in a several-car convoy with Ragland riding in another vehicle.

“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 couple’s spokesperson said, adding that “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the spokesperson said.

Ultimately, the Sussexes arrived safely at the apartment where they were staying, and nobody was injured in the chase, the spokesperson said.

A member of the couple’s security team told CNN that the chase was “very chaotic,” involving “about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles.”

Reportedly, a number of New York police officers witnessed at least a portion of the chase.

According to what British journalist Omid Scobie, the author of the book about Harry and Meghan titled “Finding Freedom” and a friend of the couple, said on Twitter, some of the photos taken by paparazzi during the chase were published Wednesday morning by The Daily Mail, although they were later removed from the publication’s Web site.

Scobie said that six vehicles with tinted windows pursued the couple despite several warnings from uniformed police, thus committing traffic violations like driving on the sidewalk, running red lights, going the wrong way down one-way streets, driving while taking photos and illegally blocking a moving vehicle.

He said that there are images and other evidence that prove what happened.

A source close to the Sussexes said that they – and Ms. Ragland – had been scared during the chase but were unhurt.

According to the BBC, the couple’s appearance at the Women of Vision event was their first public appearance since the younger son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana attended the coronation of his father in London on May 6.

The couple is staying at the home of friends in New York but did not drive directly there – reportedly so as not to endanger their friends – after the event once they found they were being pursued by the photographers.

Harry and Meghan married in the UK on May 19, 2018, and in January 2020 they announced that they were breaking their ties with the British monarchy to live an independent life in North America, first residing for a time in Canada but currently living in Los Angeles.

Princess Diana married then-Crown Prince Charles in 1981 but divorced him in 1996 and died the following year in a high-speed car crash in Paris while being chased by paparazzi.

EFE jm/er/vh/bp

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