CNN –
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were involved in a chaotic car chase with paparazzi in New York on Tuesday night that could have led to a “disastrous” outcome, their rep claimed.
The Sussexes were followed by photographers after leaving the Women of Vision Awards at the city’s Ziegfeld Ballroom in a convoy that included Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother. The couple was devastated by the incident, although no one was ultimately injured, security officials told CNN.
Police said “numerous” photographers made transporting the Sussexes “a challenge” but there were no reported clashes, injuries or arrests.
According to the couple, the altercation with photographers lasted a long time and involved several traffic violations. “Last night the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Mrs Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic chase by a group of extremely aggressive paparazzi,” the couple’s rep said.
“This relentless chase, which lasted over two hours, resulted in multiple near misses involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”
Speaking exclusively to CNN, a member of the couple’s security team, Chris Sanchez, said the incident was “alarming.” “I’ve never seen or experienced anything like this,” he said. “What we had to do was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters, and bicycles.”
The Sussexes were scared – but relieved when they returned to the flat they were staying in, he said. “The public was endangered in several places. It could have been fatal,” Sanchez said.
He later added that the couple switched cars during the chase.
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan say they were followed by photographers for two hours after leaving an event in New York.
In a statement, the New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed the outline of the Sussexes’ report but described it in less colorful language. The NYPD “assisted the private security team in protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Tuesday night,” and “there were numerous photographers who made their transportation a challenge,” said Julian Phillips, the NYPD’s assistant public information officer.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported clashes, subpoenas, injuries or arrests,” he said.
The couple’s spokesman said that “while being a public figure brings with it a degree of public interest, it should never come at the expense of anyone’s safety” and urged the media not to publish photos of the incident. “The distribution of these images, given the manner in which they were obtained, encourages an extremely intrusive practice that is dangerous for all involved.”
According to the couple’s team, the incident involved about half a dozen blacked-out vehicles in which unknown persons were driving recklessly, endangering the convoy and everyone around it.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Doria Ragland, the Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Sussex at the Women of Vision Awards in New York City.
A local law enforcement source confirmed some of the couple’s accounts, telling CNN that the couple were followed by a “swarm” of paparazzi in cars, motorcycles and scooters after they left Tuesday’s event. A New York Police Department (NYPD) security team followed Harry and Meghan in another car and had to perform some evasive maneuvers to avoid the paparazzi, the source said.
Paparazzi raced along the sidewalk on scooters and bicycles to keep up, the source said. There were many bottlenecks, including short stops between the front and back of the cars, but none resulted in an accident, the source added.
The couple’s convoy was escorted to a police station where they were able to regroup, the source added.
Both King Charles’ Buckingham Palace and Prince William’s Kensington Palace told CNN they would not comment on the incident.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the incident was “reckless” and “irresponsible.”
“You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere, but this is a densely populated city and I think all of us, I don’t think there’s a lot of us that doesn’t remember how his mother died,” Adams told Reporters when asked about the incident at an independent briefing.
“It’s clear that the paparazzi want to get the right shot, they want the right story, but public safety must always come first,” Adams said.
The Duke of Sussex has been vocal about his family’s safety, often highlighting parallels between his wife’s treatment and that of his mother Diana. The late Princess of Wales died in 1997 after suffering internal injuries in a high-speed car crash in Paris.
In the six-part Netflix docuseries about the couple, Harry hit back at critics who said the couple had a problem with paparazzi.
“In my mother’s day, it was physical harassment — cameras in your face, you were followed, stalked,” he said.
“Paparazzi are still harassing people,” he added. “But the harassment is really happening more online now. As soon as the photos are published and the stories put alongside them, social media harassment ensues. To see another woman in my life that I love going through this binge eating – it’s hard. It’s basically hunter versus prey.”