Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Markle’s mother were reportedly involved in an over two-hour, “near catastrophic car chase” Tuesday night with paparazzi in New York City.
Per a statement Wednesday morning from the former royals’ spokesperson, the event “resulted in multiple near collisions.”
“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 statement, via Reuters, said.
“This relentless pursuit,” the spokesperson added, “lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.”
The incident — which reportedly involved pursuant paparazzi driving on the sidewalk, running traffic lights and driving while taking photos — happened as the three were leaving the Ms. Foundation for Women awards ceremony in Manhattan, the spokesperson said. Markle was honored that night for her work across fields and mediums.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”
Prince Harry and Markle stepped down from the royal family and left the U.K. for the U.S. in 2020, citing, in part, harassment from the media. They were recently the subject of Netflix’s popular docuseries about their lives together, “Harry & Meghan,” which aired its final episodes late last year and at the time stood as the most viewed documentary for the streamer.
