[1/2] Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attended the United Nations General Assembly’s celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York,…
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and his mother were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi photographers after they attended an awards ceremony in New York, the prince’s spokesman said on Wednesday.
The incident involved half a dozen cars with blacked-out windows, dangerous driving and put the lives of the couple, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, at risk, according to their spokesperson.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near-catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“This relentless pursuit, which lasted over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.
The couple was shaken by the incident but were not hurt.
The prince has long spoken of his anger at the press interference he blames for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed when her limousine crashed while speeding after paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
A spokeswoman for the couple said Tuesday’s chase, after leaving the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, could also have turned deadly and involved paparazzi driving on sidewalks, running red lights, and driving while taking pictures.
Those involved in the chase were confronted multiple times by police, according to the spokesman. A spokeswoman for the New York Police Department said she could not confirm any information about the incident.
Ms. Foundation for Women, organizers of the awards ceremony where Meghan was honored for her work, had no immediate comment.
‘HIGHLY INTRUSIVE PRACTICE’
Pictures that have since emerged on social media show Harry, Meghan and her mother sitting in the back of a taxi in New York which their spokesman said showed “a little glimpse of the defense and flirtations that is necessary to end the harassment”.
The couple, who live in California with their two young children, are staying at a private residence but have decided not to return there because they don’t want to compromise the individual’s safety, according to their spokesman.
“While being a public figure carries a level of interest from the public, it should not compromise anyone’s safety,” the spokesperson said. “The dissemination of these images, given the means by which they were obtained, encourages a highly invasive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”
Harry never hid his hatred of the press, fueled by the treatment of his mother and his own experiences, especially as a child.
In his memoir “Spare”, the couple’s Netflix documentary series and TV interviews, he denounced the British tabloids for invading his and his family’s privacy, and this is one of the main reasons given by Meghan to step down from their royal duties in 2020 and move to the United States.
The prince is currently embroiled in multiple court cases in London where he has accused the papers of using illegal methods to target him and his family. While the papers have denied almost all of his allegations, a publisher last week apologized for illegally seeking information about him in 2004.
He is also trying to overturn the British government’s decision to remove his special police protection when he is in Britain.
Reporting by Mike Holden, writing by William James
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
