You’ve likely heard about the “near catastrophic” car chase that Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mom were involved in on Tuesday night, but now you can hear about it from the taxi driver himself! Veuer’s Chloe Hurst has the story!
LONDON — The latest chapter in the drama surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan’s treatment by the tabloid media was much ado about something.
Exactly what happened Tuesday night in New York when the royals left a gala event and were followed by a group of photographers was not completely clear. No fender was bent. No traffic citations issued. Nobody was hurt.
What was evident is that the royal couple was shaken and the pursuit would likely only fuel Harry’s fury at the media as well as his greatest fear that his wife could meet the same fate as his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi.
The couple’s representatives claimed they were pursued by photographers in a “near catastrophic car chase” through the streets of Manhattan. Police said the pursuit was relatively short, led to no injuries, collisions or arrests and warranted no further investigation. A photo agency later contended it was Harry and Meghan’s security guards who acted recklessly.
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Harry’s perception of what happened is undoubtedly colored by his mother’s fatal crash when he was just 12 years old.
“My mother was chased to her death,” Harry said in the mental health docuseries “The Me You Can’t See,” discussing his fears about Meghan being hounded by the media. “And now look what’s happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself? They’re not going to stop until she dies.”
Harry’s battle with the news media has taken two shapes: speaking out against his perceived mistreatment in what he has called his life’s mission to reform the press and taking tabloid publishers to court in London.
Security for Harry and Meghan has been an issue since the British government stripped them of protection when they moved to California in 2020, and it figures in three of his legal cases against the government and tabloid press. The couple said they fund their own security.
The New York run-in occurred the same day a lawyer for Harry argued in a London court that he should be able to challenge a government decision denying him the right to pay police for his own security in the U.K.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, argued his safety was “compromised due to the absence of police protection” during a short visit to the U.K. in July 2021, when his car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event.
On Tuesday, Harry and Meghan, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and her mother, Doria Ragland, were leaving the Ms. Foundation Awards in Manhattan when photographers conducted a “relentless pursuit” that resulted in “multiple near collisions,” according to a spokesperson for the couple.
The couple sought refuge in a police station before attempting to evade the photographers in a cab. The driver said the photographers “were following us the whole time,” though he wouldn’t call it a chase.
The account led New York Mayor Eric Adams to condemn the paparazzi pursuing them as “reckless and irresponsible.”
A photo agency issued a statement denying the freelance photographers involved had done anything wrong and insisting they had “no intention of causing any distress or harm.”
Backgrid USA said the photographers present reported that part of Harry’s security escort “was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.” Backgrid also said it took the couple’s concerns seriously and would investigate.
The bulk of Harry’s lawsuits are against the British tabloid press. Three cases center around a phone hacking scandal that dates back more than a decade.
The lawsuits — including an ongoing trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror in which the duke is to testify next month — provide fresh reminders of unscrupulous tactics employed by some journalists and private eyes hired by the papers.
Harry and other high-profile claimants in the cases, including Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, allege nefarious practices that went as far as bugging, wire tapping and using deceit to get medical records.
The newspapers denied wrongdoing and say the claims were brought too late.
In moving to the U.S., Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, citing what they described as the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward Meghan, who is biracial.
They sat for a two-hour TV interview with Oprah, launched a six-part series on Netflix about their life together and Harry released his best-selling memoir, “Spare.”
British tabloid headlines about the couple are often negative.
On Wednesday, The Sun’s main story on the incident was titled “Harry Fears” and partially quoted the cab driver — who only witnessed a bit of the pursuit — in a headline that says “chase claims are ‘exaggerated’ and there was ‘no reason to be afraid.’”
The Mail Online’s top royals story was a column roasting Meghan for focusing on a “woke set of radical feminist priorities aimed at rescuing her reputation while getting richer.”
In the U.S., the TV show “South Park” spoofed the couple in an episode called “The Worldwide Privacy Tour” in which the “prince and princess of Canada” — cartoonish Harry and Meghan lookalikes — jet around the planet in a publicity spree to get people to stop talking about them.
Photos: Prince Harry and Meghan through the years
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for the media in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, Monday Nov. 27, 2017. It was announced Monday that Prince Harry, fifth in line for the British throne, will marry American actress Meghan Markle in the spring, confirming months of rumors.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle meet a Shetland Pony as they arrive at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. The recently engaged couple are on a one day tour to Edinburgh, and will visit the Castle and observe the firing of the One O’clock Gun.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle ride a horse-drawn carriage, after their wedding ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after their wedding ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018.
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex pose for a group photo at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
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Britian’s Prince Harry, the patron of the charity WellChild and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex meet four-year-old Mckenzie Brackley and his mother, during the annual WellChild Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. The couple attended the annual WellChild awards Tuesday for the charity, who help to get seriously ill children and young people out of hospital and home to their families.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet with a local surfing community group, known as OneWave, raising awareness for mental health and wellbeing in a fun and engaging way at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on day four of their 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.
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Britain’s Prince Harry, left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk along Kingfisher Bay Jetty during a visit to Fraser Island, Australia, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on day seven of their 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet Ruby a mother Koala who gave birth to koala joey Meghan, named after Her Royal Highness, with a second joey named Harry after His Royal Highness during a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are embraced by Luke Vincent, 5, on their arrival in Dubbo, Australia, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on day two of their 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex stop to stroke horses in their stables during a visit to the Moroccan Royal Federation of Equestrian Sports in Rabat in Morocco, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on a three day visit to the country.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a photocall with their newborn son, in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, Windsor, south England, Wednesday May 8, 2019.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex attend the 91st Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in London, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019.
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Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive at the annual Endeavour Fund Awards in London, Thursday, March 5, 2020. The awards celebrate the achievements of service personnel who were injured in service and have gone on to use sport as part of their recovery and rehabilitation.