The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, along with Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, were involved in an alleged car chase with the paparazzi, which has been described as “near catastrophic.”
The alleged incident, sounding eerily similar to what the late Princess Diana had to endure, is reported to have happened while the couple and Doria were on their way to attend the Ms. Foundation for Women awards ceremony in New York City on Tuesday evening.
A spokesperson for the royals emailed a statement to AFP:
“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. This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers.”
A source close to the couple explained that the trio were pursued by half a dozen blacked-out vehicles with “unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them.” They also added that the alleged chase could have been fatal and that numerous traffic violations were committed.
Fortunately, nobody was harmed.
However, the royals’ take on the account does not seem to match that of others close to the incident.
According to the Washington Post, the taxi driver for the trio, Sukhcharn Singh, said there were two vehicles following them. “I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They [Harry and Meghan] were quiet and seemed scared, but it’s New York.”
AFP reports that New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he found it “hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase” through the city but added that even “a 10-minute chase is extremely dangerous in New York City.”
Backgrid USA Inc., a global premiere celebrity news agency, provided a lengthy statement of their account of the incident:
“We want to clarify that we have received photos and videos of last night’s events from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle… They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras.”
The statement also states that the photographers witnessed one of the four SUVs from Harry’s security escort “driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.” The vehicle was reportedly pulled over by police.
#MeghanSmollett
“near catastrophic car chase”
The Sussexes’ team warning against sharing images of the chase,
Photos courtesy by backgrid Apparently only #backgridUSA got photos, in a world where camera phones are prevalent
No civilians got footage of the chase/incident? pic.twitter.com/5Yp2qaExnK— Britannicus Maximus “Brutus” (@BrutusMaximusX) May 18, 2023
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