The New York Police Department responded on Wednesday to reports that Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” with paparazzi while visiting New York City on Tuesday night.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Public Information officer Julian Phillips issued a statement to The Daily Wire confirming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were escorted by officers while in the city, but said that there were no “collisions” or “injuries” involved in their transport.
“On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the NYPD statement read.
“There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” the statement added. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, And Her Mother Involved In ‘Near Catastrophic Car Chase’ With Paparazzi, Spox Says https://t.co/3W1o123c8t pic.twitter.com/5K6FnoCcJX
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) May 17, 2023
The statement comes following an earlier report that the trio were involved in a “near-catastrophic car chase” in NYC, per a spokesperson for the prince. It reportedly happened following an event in the city where Markle was honored with a “Woman of Vision” award.
“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,” a rep for the Sussex’s told Deadline.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the statement added.
“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,” the statement concluded.
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The late Princess Diana, Harry’s mother died in a car wreck in 1997 in Paris, France. Some, including Harry, have blamed the wreck on the paparazzi.
“I think one of the hardest things to come to terms with is the fact that the people that chased her into the tunnel were the same people that were taking photographs of her while she was still dying on the back seat of the car,” the prince said in a BBC documentary in 2017.
“She had quite a severe head injury but she was very much still alive in the back seat and those people that caused the accident, instead of helping they were taking photographs in the back seat and then those photographs made their way back to news desks,” he added.