A file photo of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP
In what could’ve been a bad repeat of how his mother Princess Diana died, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were chased by incessant paparazzi who wanted to get coveted shots of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in New York on Wednesday night.
But the duration of the chase seems inconclusive, as Prince Harry’s spokesperson said they were pursued for more than two hours in the Big Apple.
The couple released a statement of their own through their spokesperson.
“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.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near-collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”
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“In a briefing I received, two of our officers could have been injured, New York City is different from a small town somewhere… I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how (Harry’s) mum died.
“It would be horrific to lose the innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a press briefing.
Princess Diana died in a 1997 car crash in Paris, while being chased by paparazzi. Harry spoke about the paparazzi’s obsession with his life in his book Spare.
In the same briefing, the mayor disputed claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex through their statement, in which they said they were chased for two hours.
“I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase. But we will find out the exact duration of it. If it’s 10 minutes, a 10-minute chase is dangerous in New York,” the mayor said.
The former royal couple was chased by paparazzi in New York after attending the Ms Foundation for Women’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom at around 10pm local time.
This was the couple’s second public appearance since Harry returned to North America from attending his father’s coronation.
Chris Sanchez, a member of the couple’s security team who spoke exclusively to CNN, said the incident was alarming.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this,” he said. “What we were dealing with was very chaotic.”
The Sussexes were scared – but were relieved when they returned to the apartment where they were staying, he said. “The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal,” Sanchez added.
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Speaking to Sky News the couple’s press secretary Ashley Hansen, echoed Sanchez’s sentiments.
“I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did last night. They were incredibly scared and shaken up. There were several times where the car stopped and security got out.
“There were instances where the police confronted the paparazzi and had asked them to stop or give them space, to do this safely. Unfortunately, that wish was not respected,” said Hansen.
In an interview with the Washington Post, the cab driver Sukhcharn Singh, who drove the couple on the night saw the whole incident quite different.
“I don’t think I would call it a chase,” Singh said of his period driving the couple.
“I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York — it’s safe.”
Deputy Commissioner of the New York Police Department Julian Phillips said his officers “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
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.”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are yet to comment on the incident.
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