Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were left “extremely upset and shaken” after a nearly two-hour paparazzi chase in New York City Tuesday (May 16th) night.
Page Six reports that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, were pursued by around 12 photographers after leaving a charity event at the Ziegfeld Theater around 10 p.m.
A spokesperson for the royal heir told Deadline Wednesday (May 17th), “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.
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.”
Sources told the outlet that the trio eventually ditched their SUV and jumped into a yellow cab in order to evade photographers. One insider added that a cameraman hit a car while another almost ran over an NYPD officer during the “near-fatal” chase.
The NYPD confirmed the chase to Deadline but downplayed the incident, saying, “On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD 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.”
