Harry and Meghan in ‘near catastrophic’ car chase – spokesperson

Prince Harry, Meghan and her mom had been concerned in a “close to catastrophic automotive chase” involving paparazzi, a spokesperson for the couple has claimed.

The incident occurred after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday.

In an announcement, their spokesperson mentioned the “relentless pursuit” lasted for greater than two hours.

The chase resulted in “a number of close to collisions”, mentioned the assertion.

The BBC has not been in a position to independently confirm the small print.

In an announcement, the New York Police Division (NYPD) confirmed an incident passed off involving Prince Harry and Meghan and mentioned that quite a few photographers “made their transport difficult”.

No accidents or arrests had been reported, the police mentioned. Buckingham Palace has not but commented.

There are claims the chase concerned half a dozen automobiles, with reckless driving together with going by way of purple lights, driving on the pavement, finishing up blocking strikes, and reversing down a one-way avenue – in addition to taking pictures whereas driving.

Particulars are rising of what appear to have been chaotic scenes in the midst of New York. The couple, plus Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland, tried to take shelter from the paparazzi by going to a Manhattan police station.

BBC Information understands the pair had been staying at a pal’s house, and didn’t return on to keep away from compromising their safety.

There was then a plan to make use of a New York taxi, with a yellow cab flagged down and Harry, Meghan, Ms Ragland and a safety officer getting inside.

However the automobile and its occupants had been noticed by photographers and so they reverted to their very own safety automobiles.

Cab driver Sukhcharn Singh informed the Washington Submit he picked up the 4 passengers at about 23:00 native time similar to every other fare.

Mr Singh mentioned he by no means felt at risk throughout what he mentioned was a 10-minute journey and wouldn’t “name it a chase”.

“They had been quiet and appeared scared nevertheless it’s New York – it is protected,” he mentioned, including he returned the passengers to the police station on the request of the safety officer.

The couple use personal safety whereas within the US – however Harry is engaged in a authorized battle in London over the usage of Metropolitan Police safety whereas he and his household are within the UK.

“Whereas being a public determine comes with a degree of curiosity from the general public, it ought to by no means come at the price of anybody’s security,” the couple’s spokesperson mentioned.

“Dissemination of those pictures, given the methods wherein they had been obtained, encourages a extremely intrusive follow that’s harmful to all concerned.”

The awards ceremony they attended – the Ms Basis Ladies of Imaginative and prescient Awards – was Harry and Meghan’s first public look collectively for the reason that King’s Coronation earlier this month.

Meghan accepted an award on the occasion alongside LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of Black Voters Matter.

New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams informed reporters that two cops “might have been injured” and that it “could be horrific to lose an harmless bystander throughout a chase like this”.

Whereas Mr Adams mentioned he “would discover it laborious to consider” {that a} high-speed chase passed off for 2 hours, even a 10-minute chase in congested New York could be “extraordinarily harmful”.

Though Prince Harry and Meghan’s assertion had by no means claimed that there had been such a two-hour high-speed chase.

Duncan Larcombe, the writer of the e-book Prince Harry: the Inside Story, informed the BBC that it seems “one thing has gone extraordinarily incorrect” with Harry and Meghan’s safety within the nation.

“This can come as an enormous shock for individuals who used to take care of Harry within the UK,” he mentioned. “There are large inquiries to be requested about whether or not the paparazzi can nonetheless function on this manner.”

Prince Harry’s mom, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 automotive crash in Paris whereas being chased by photographers.

In an interview with the BBC for the documentary Diana, 7 Days, Prince Harry referred to the paparazzi as “a pack of canines” who always hounded his mom. “Each single time she went on the market’d be a pack of individuals ready for her,” he mentioned. “I imply a pack of canines, adopted her, chased her, harassed her, known as her names, spat at her, making an attempt to get a response, to get that {photograph} of her lashing out.”

Prince Harry is presently concerned in a number of authorized disputes with the British tabloid press, together with allegations of cellphone hacking and the illegal gathering of knowledge.

Earlier this week, a lawyer for the prince informed a London court docket that he ought to be allowed to problem a authorities resolution that denied him the power to pay for police safety whereas within the nation.

The pair stepped down from royal duties and moved to the US in 2020 – a transfer they mentioned was partly on account of harassment from UK tabloids.

Prince Harry has described his battle to alter the media as his “life’s work”. Subsequent month he’ll seem in a London court docket to offer proof in a cellphone hacking case.