Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were “left extremely upset and shaken” after a two-hour paparazzi chase through New York City.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were left “extremely upset and shaken” after being pursued by photographers leaving the Ziegfeld Theatre in Manhattan Tuesday night local time.
The couple, travelling with Ms Markle’s mum Doria Ragland, left Women of Vision Awards in an SUV around 10pm local time and were immediately followed by about 12 paparazzi, with reports some on motorcycles drove down sidewalks dodging pedestrians
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a previous visit to New York. Picture: Getty Images)
A source told The New York Post that one cameraman hit their car while another almost ran over a NYPD officer during the “near-fatal” chase.
“It started off with 12 paparazzi then ended up with four chasing [Meghan, Harry and Doria],” the insider said. “Their security tried their best to lose [photographers].”
The chase got so intense the group left their SUV and jumped into a yellow taxi as a “last-ditch” attempt to lose the paparazzi, the Post reported.
Ms Ragland, 66, was left particularly “terrified”, with a source close to the family adding “everyone is still upset, to say the least. It was horrific.”
The photographers ignored warnings by uniformed police and continued chasing the trio, with the source adding that Prince Harry filmed the melee on his phone while his security also recorded video evidence of the chase.
The chase through the streets reportedly lasted for two hours. Picture: Getty Images
A spokesman for the Sussexes said the “near catastrophic car chase” was carried out by “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,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“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.”
“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”
Biographer Omid Scobie said while “understandably shaken” the Sussexes were “thankful everyone’s safe”.
Photos of the couple that came as a result from the two-hour chase briefly appeared on the Daily Mail this morning but have since been removed.
A source close to the Sussexes say Harry, Meghan and Doria are âunderstandably shaken but thankful everyone’s safeâ.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) May 17, 2023
“Traffic violations by the drivers include driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle,” he said.
“Photos of the couple that came as a result from the two-hour chase briefly appeared on the Daily Mail this morning but have since been removed,” he added.
TMZ published photos of Prince Harry, Ms Markle and Ms Ragland in the taxi in their failed attempt to outwit the paparazzi by switching vehicles.
More to come.