Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mother were involved in a ‘near catastrophic car chase” in New York, a spokesman for the royal has said.
Prince Harry’s spokesman said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in a “relentless pursuit” by paparazzi that lasted over two hours.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
They continued: “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 in involved.”
Sky News reports that the incident happened after Meghan and Harry had attended an awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday – their first public appearance since the King’s coronation.
The couple were accompanied by Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, at the ceremony, where the duchess had received a Woman of Vision award at the ceremony.
The trio had left the award show in an SUV, but at some point switched to a taxi during the chase.
Police then tried to outwit the pursuing photographers by driving in a different direction to the cab.
A source told Page Six that one cameraman hit a car while another almost ran over a NYPD officer.
“It started off with 12 paparazzi then ended up with four chasing [Meghan, Harry and Doria],” the source said.
“Their security tried their best to lose [photographers].”
The paparazzi had been confronted by uniformed police officers, but continued chasing the family, the publication reports.
After receiving her award, Markle had told the event: “It’s never too late to start. You can be the visionary of your own life. There is still so much work to be done.”
“You can charter a path in which what you repeat in your daily acts of service, in kindness, in advocacy, in grace and in fairness, that those become the very things that are recognised by the next wave of women, both young and old,” she said.