Prince Harry and Meghan were chased by photographers as they left an awards ceremony in New York City on Tuesday night, a spokesperson for the couple has claimed. The pursuit and media frenzy evoked memories of the 1997 car chase through Paris that killed Harry’s mother, Princess Diana – although in this case, no one was hurt.
In a statement, Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said the “relentless pursuit” by paparazzi resulted in several “near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” The statement said that the “near catastrophic” car chase lasted nearly two hours.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed the incident but said that no injuries were reported and no arrests have been made so far. Both NYPD and the mayor of New York City, as well as the cab driver who briefly transported the couple, sought to downplay the incident, AFP reported.
After being pursued by paparazzi in half a dozen cars, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reached a Manhattan police station instead of going back to the friend’s house they were staying at, so as not to give away their location.
The couple planned to ditch their limousine and use a New York taxi for the rest of their journey. A security officer helped flag down a yellow cab, driven by Sukhcharn Singh, and helped the couple get inside.
The cab driver’s account
Sukhcharn Singh, the Indian-origin cab driver who drove them from the police station, said he instantly recognised his famous customers.
"A security guard hailed me, next thing you know Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab," he told BBC.
“As we went a block, we got blocked by a garbage truck and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures. They were just about to give me the location of where they were going to go, but then they told me to circle back to the precinct.”
Harry and Meghan’s plan had been to use the cab to go back to the home where they were staying. When they were spotted by photographers again, however, they asked their cab driver to go back to the police station.
Asked if the paparazzi were being aggressive, Singh said: “No, no, no… they were behind us. They kept their distance.” He said that photographers followed them the entire time but would not describe it as a “chase.”
“New York is the safest place to be - there's police stations, cops on every corner,” said Singh, who described Harry and Meghan as “nice people” who “looked nervous.”
The British royal and his wife paid Singh $50 for the short ride.
The chase
Singh’s account describes only 10 minutes in what the couple’s spokesperson said was an ordeal lasting two hours.
A source close to the couple said Meghan and Harry were pursued by half a dozen blacked out vehicles with "unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them."
"The chase could have been fatal," the source added, claiming a number of possible traffic violations -- including driving on the sidewalk, running red lights and reversing down a one-way street -- were committed.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said "there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging."
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard," NYPD spokesman Julian Phillips told AFP.
(With inputs from agencies)
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