Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were involved in a harrowing car chase fueled by paparazzi Tuesday. The couple’s office said the pair and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, were followed for more than two hours by half a dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event in New York on Tuesday.
It said in a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday that the chase “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers.” It called the incident “near catastrophic.” “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,” their office said. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved,” NYPD told NBC New York and The New York Times that they did not have a record of a car chase involving Prince Harry and Meghan. Security for Harry and Meghan has been an issue since the British government stripped them of protection when they stepped away as senior royals and moved to California in 2020.
The chase happened the same day a lawyer argued for Harry 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 has argued his safety was “compromised due to the absence of police protection” during a short visit to the U.K. in July 2021, when photographers chased his car as he left a charity event.
The couple was in New York City for the “Ms. Foundation for Women’s annual gala”, at which Meghan accepted the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award Tuesday night with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown. Meghan and Harry entered and exited the event venue through the public entrance. It was there that paparazzi snapped photos of the duo who were dressed up for the occasion.
