Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in ‘near catastrophic’ car chase in New York

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be “left extremely upset and shaken” after what they claim was a two-hour paparazzi chase through New York.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 18: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive at the United Nations Headquarters on July 18, 2022 in New York City. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is the keynote speaker during the United Nations General assembly to mark the observance of Nelson Mandela International Day where the 2020 U.N. Nelson Mandela Prize will be awarded to Mrs. Marianna Vardinogiannis of Greece and Dr. Morissanda Kouyaté of Guinea. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claims they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” have been challenged by New York authorities.

Prince Harry reportedly told friends the two-hour pursuit helped him understand how his mother Princess Diana died, but New York officials and the taxi driver who picked up the Sussexes played down the dramatic incident.

When asked by the BBC if there was a “near-catastrophic chase”, the taxi driver, Sukhcharn Singh, said: “I don’t think that’s true. I think that’s all exaggerated.”

Mr Singh told the Washington Post they were pursued by two vehicles – a black Honda Accord and an older grey Honda CR-V – but that he didn’t feel in danger.

Prince Harry, his mother-in-law Doria Ragland and Meghan Markle seen arriving to the Woman Of Vision Awards in New York City. Picture: Raymond Hall/GC Images

Other officials said the incident wasn’t as serious as the couple claimed.

New York Police Department spokesman Julian Phillips said numerous photographers “made their transport challenging” after leaving the Women of Vision Awards in Manhattan about 10pm local time on Tuesday.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,” he said in a brief statement.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams added that he would “find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high speed chase”, but he said even a brief pursuit on the city’s busy streets would be “reckless and irresponsible” and “extremely dangerous”.

“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall (Harry’s) mum died,” he said.

“It would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and for something to have happened to them as well.”

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the “relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD police officers”.

However, a senior law enforcement source told the New York Post the chase “definitely wasn’t two hours” and that “we only had one car as part of this”.

Mr Singh said he picked up the couple, Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and a security guard from the NYPD’s 19th precinct about 11pm, after they had tried to shake the paparazzi for an hour.

The couple claim they were chased by paparazzi through the streets of New York City for two hours. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Ms. Foundation for Women

He said they were followed by two cars during the 10-minute trip before they asked to be dropped back at the police station.

“I don’t think I would call it a chase,” Mr Singh said.

In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the taxi driver said at least six photographers surrounded his taxi during the trip “out of nowhere” and “just went crazy with the camera”.

“I don’t know what they went through last night, right, because I only had interaction with them for 15 minutes and they seemed very nervous when they were in my cab,” he said.

In another intreview, Mr Singh said the couple “didn’t say much” during their brief 10-minute trip.

“They just asked my name and then after that Harry said thanks and have a good day,” he told the Associated Press.

But he said they paid him a handsome $US50 tip on top of the $US17 fare.

“I mean, when I’m going around the block, that’s more than enough,” he said.

Prince Harry has spoken about protecting Meghan Markle from paparazzi, after his mother was killed in a crash trying to escape them. Picture: Supplied

Harry filmed the drama on his phone, with Sussex biographer Omid Scobie reporting that photographers were “driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle”.

Chris Sanchez, a member of the Sussex security team, told CNN the chase left Harry and Meghan “scared and exhausted”.

“I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” he said.

“The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine (carrying the couple) and started taking pictures until we were able to get out.”

The spokesman for the Sussexes said that while being a public figure came with a level of interest, “it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety”.

The wreckage of car in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said Harry would “agonise” over the incident that would “invoke memories of the Paris car chase in 1997 in which his mother Princess Diana died”.

“This is what has haunted him ever since,” he said.

Harry and Meghan were reportedly staying at a friend’s home on New York’s Upper East Side but had tried to lead paparazzi away from the private address before finally returning after midnight on Wednesday.

The incident happened on the same day as a suspected stalker was placed under a citizen’s arrest by private security guards outside the couple’s Californian mansion.

Kevin Garcia Valdovinos, 29, was seen lurking at the property about 2am. He was charged by police with stalking, which was then downgraded to a prowling misdemeanour.

Prince William and Prince Harry at the funeral of their mother, Princess Dianna. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Harry has spoken about his fear that Meghan would meet the same fate as his mother, who died in a car crash while attempting to flee paparazzi pursuing on motorcycles.

“The last thing mummy ever saw on this Earth was a flashbulb,” he wrote in memoir Spare.

“I’d been told that paps chased Mummy, that they’d hunted her like a pack of wild dogs, but I’d never dared to imagine that, like wild dogs, they’d also feasted on her defenceless body.”

The photographers in New York were said to have ignored warnings by uniformed police and continued chasing the trio, with the source adding that Harry filmed the melee on his phone while his security also recorded video evidence of the chase.

The Sussexes spokesman said while being a public figure comes with a level of interest, “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,” the spokesman said.

Sussex biographer Omid Scobie said while “understandably shaken”, the Sussexes were “thankful everyone’s safe”.

“Traffic violations by the drivers include driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle,” he said.

“Photos of the couple that came as a result from the two-hour chase briefly appeared on the Daily Mail this morning but have since been removed,” he added.

MailOnline said the pictures were published “few hours” based on photo agency captions saying Harry and Meghan were getting into a taxi after the awards event.

“When it was discovered that the pictures were in fact taken some time later at a different location, they were removed,” the outlet said.

Photos of the couple that came as a result from the two-hour chase briefly appeared on the Daily Mail this morning but have since been removed.

A source close to the Sussexes say Harry, Meghan and Doria are “understandably shaken but thankful everyone's safe”.

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) May 17, 2023

TMZ, however, published photos and video of Harry, Meghan and her mum in the taxi.

Their security attempted to move photographers away from the taxi while in traffic, getting out of the passenger seat and telling them to “back up for a sec”

“Guys, I need some space please,” he can be heard saying before getting back in the taxi as it drives away. “Let’s get some space OK.”

Some high-profile people aren’t buying their story, with Piers Morgan, Meghn Kelly and Caitlyn Jenner trashing the Sussexes.

Mr Morgan tweeted: “There was no 2-hour chase, their story is unraveling by the minute”.

Ms Kelly cast doubt on length of time the car chase went for, tweeting: “I lived in Manhattan for 17 yrs & it is not possible to have a 2hr ‘car chase’ there”.

“Also if they really want to avoid the paparazzi perhaps the Duchess should stop using them so obviously when she wants to see herself in the paper. The relationship can get complicated,” Ms Kelly added to the Twitter thread.

Ms Jenner also chimed in, saying: “Whine whine whine is all these 2 (sic) seem to do”.

“I have been party to paps following me in NY (definitely not 2 hrs and plenty of evidence - kind of the point since they have cameras), LA (even in a city with lots of driving and long distances between destinations, not 2 hours, and AGAIN LOTS OF EVIDENCE) it comes with the territory,” Ms Jenner replied to Ms Kelly’s tweet.

Originally published as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in ‘near catastrophic’ car chase in New York