Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were trailed in their car by the paparazzi in New York as they left a charity event on Tuesday night where Meghan was honoured for her work. The couple and Meghan’s mother took a brief refuge at a police station before being whisked away in a yellow cab, which an Indian-origin man was incidentally driving.
The pursuit and media frenzy on Tuesday brought back horrific memories of the 1997 car chase through Paris that killed Harry’s mother, Princess Diana. On Tuesday though, no one was hurt.
The incident was reported by their spokesperson on Wednesday, revealing that the couple were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase,” through the streets of Manhattan.
That account led New York City Mayor Eric Adams to condemn the paparazzi chasing them as “reckless and irresponsible.”
However, New York Police later stated that the pursuit was relatively short and led to no injuries, collisions or arrests and hence warranted no further investigations.
Indian cab driver to rescue
The cab driver who drove them from the police station said he instantly recognised his passengers and claimed that paparazzi “were following us the whole time,” but added that he wouldn’t call it a chase. “They had this look on their faces,” the driver, Sukhcharn Singh, said. “All of a sudden paparazzi came out and started taking pictures.”
Singh told news agency AP that he was a witness to only some part of the drama. Not calling his drive a dangerous chase by photographers, he said, “I was on 67th Street and then the security guard hailed me. Next thing you know, Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab.”
“We got blocked by a garbage truck, and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures. They looked nervous, I think they were being chased the whole day or something,” he said, adding, “They were pretty nervous, but the security guard, he was on it.”
Police issued a short statement confirming an incident Tuesday night involving photographers and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In New York on Tuesday night, the couple left Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ballroom — where Meghan was honoured at the Ms. Foundation’s Woman of Vision Awards with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown. Post event the couple and Meghan’s mother got into an SUV as crowds of pedestrians and photographers cheered.
Harry and Meghan’s vehicle was then followed by photographers in a scene that their office said “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” The couple’s office called the incident “near catastrophic.”
Police eventually intervened and led them inside a police station, 18 blocks from the ballroom. The three spent several minutes at the station and once they felt it was safe, opted to leave in a taxi.
The award presentation was Meghan and Harry’s first public appearance since the coronation of King Charles III earlier this month. Harry had attended the coronation alone while Meghan stayed back in California for her son Prince Archie’s fourth birthday.
