Prince Harry and Meghan in near catastrophic car chase with paparazzi, spokesperson says

Spokesperson for prince says incident happened after couple attended awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the duchess’s mother were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase after being followed by paparazzi, the duke’s spokesperson has said. The incident is said to have happened after Prince Harry, Meghan and Doria Ragland attended an awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday. “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD [New York police department] officers,” Harry’s spokesperson said. “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 involved.” Meghan received a Woman of Vision award on Tuesday as she and Harry made their first public appearance since the coronation of King Charles. In her speech, Meghan encouraged women to fight for equity as she accepted the award at the Ms. Foundation for Women’s annual gala. The duke and duchess are said to accept there is a heightened level of attention when they are out at public events. In this case, they were said to have exited and entered the venue publicly and paparazzi got their pictures, according to a source. But there are fears that the chase that ensued could have been fatal. According to the source, the chase involved half a dozen blacked-out vehicles with unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them. Traffic violations were said to have included driving on the sidewalk, running red lights, reversing down a one-way street, driving while on the phone, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle. It was claimed that individuals involved were confronted by uniformed police multiple times and sped off to continue the pursuit. The family was staying at a private residence and did not want to compromise the security of their friend’s home, a source said. There is said to be footage taken from security along with other evidence to support the timeline and circumstances. In October 2020, the couple received an apology from a US news agency after drones were allegedly used to take “intrusive and illegal” pictures of their son, Archie. The couple launched legal action against the agency claiming an individual had photographed Archie, who was then 14 months old, at their home in Los Angeles during lockdown. In spring that year, Harry and Meghan were forced to build a fence when staying at the Los Angeles home of the actor and director Tyler Perry after photographers discovered where they were. Their security detail had been removed as they were no longer working royals. This week, Harry launched a second legal challenge against the UK Home Office over his security arrangements, claiming a decision to not allow him to pay for police protection while in the UK was unlawful.