Police are investigating after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said they were caught in a “near catastrophic” two-hour paparazzi car chase following an event in Manhattan.
Law enforcement sources said the high-profile couple’s police escort was forced to “drive around” and “hide in a driveway” to avoid dogged photogs while accompanying Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, home from the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown on Tuesday night.
“On [Tuesday] evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Post in a statement Wednesday.
“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.”
A spokesperson for the couple earlier Wednesday issued a scathing statement alleging that the couple and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, were pursued by “highly aggressive paparazzi” for over two hours after the the Women of Vision Awards at the
Footage from the evening that was shared on Twitter purportedly shows Harry, Meghan, and Doria taking refuge inside a yellow cab as multiple cameras continue to flash. Police sirens can also be seen in the background.
In their official statement, the couple’s spokesperson cautioned that public interest should “never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
The Sussexes’ team also warned against sharing images of the chase, arguing that they promoted “a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”
A source told Page Six that the incident narrowly avoided spiraling into a fatal disaster when one cameraperson hit a car, while another almost ran over an NYPD officer.
“It started off with 12 paparazzi, then ended up with four chasing [Meghan, Harry and Doria],” the insider explained.
The paparazzi also repeatedly ignored warnings from uniformed police, Page Six learned.
“Everyone is still upset, to say the least. It was horrific,” the source said, noting that Doria, 66, was particularly rattled.
Tuesday night’s incident also comes amid the Duke of Sussex’s ongoing legal battle in the UK over security.
The red-haired prince’s personal detail was revoked in 2020, when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California. Harry has since argued that it would be unsafe for him and his family to travel to his home country without police protection.
Just hours before the alleged car chase, the prince’s lawyers argued that he should be allowed to pay public police for security during visits.
The dramatic chase was also a heartbreaking reminder of Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a paparazzi car chase in Paris in 1997.
Harry – who now shares two children with Markle – previously said that he grieves for his mother “every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Harry, Meghan, and Doria are still in New York City. It is unclear when they plan to return to the Montecito estate they share with children Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, who is almost 2.