Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly been involved in a “near-catastrophic” paparazzi chase in New York City which lasted two hours.
A spokesperson has claimed to The Washington Post that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland were followed in a “relentless pursuit” by paparazzi on May 16 (May 17 AEST) after the family left the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards.
The family were attending an event in New York.
(Image: Getty)“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the spokesperson told the publication.
“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.”
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According to a Page Six source, the trio left the event in an SUV around 10pm and were followed by roughly 12 paparazzi. During the chase, it has been alleged one cameraman hit a car and almost ran over a police officer.
While there have been numerous claims regarding reckless driving, but New York Police Department spokesperson Julian Phillips released a statement confirming the number of paparazzi made “transport challenging” but “no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests.”
According to ET, both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace will not be commenting on the incident.
People Magazine have also reported that the palace had no comment when contacted by the publication on Wednesday, with a source stating that “since Harry and Meghan have stepped back from royal duties, the palace generally does not comment on their activities.”
The chase allegedly lasted over two hours.
(Image: Getty)Following the chase, the BBC News reported the family then sought help from police where they then entered a New York yellow taxi with a security officer in the hopes of evading photographers.
But it wasn’t long until they were spotted by photographers and returned to their security vehicles.
The man who claims to be the cab driver, Sukhcharn Signh also known as Sonny informed the BBC that he picked up four passengers that were “nice people” who “looked nervous.”
“A security guard hailed me, next thing you know Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab,” he said.
“As we went a block, we got blocked by a garbage truck and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures. They were just about to give me the location of where they were going to go, but then they told me to circle back to the precinct.”
They were allegedly followed by 12 paparazzi.
Sonny revealed his beliefs to the publication that the claims of a “near catastrophic chase” may have been exaggerated, nor did he think paparazzi were being “aggressive.”
“New York is the safest place to be – there’s police stations, cops on every corner,” he said.
“[The paparazzi] were behind us… they kept their distance.”
Various media outlets have reported on the severity of the incident including the BBC, The Washington Post and Page Six.
And in contrast to the taxi drivers’ statement, a member of Meghan and Harry’s security detail, Chris Sanchez told CNN the scene was “very chaotic.”
“The public were in jeopardy at several points,” he said. “It could have been fatal.”
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