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Prince Harry, his wife, Meghan, and their mother were involved in a “near miss” involving paparazzi photographers after attending an awards ceremony in New York, the prince’s spokesman said on Wednesday.
The incident involved half a dozen cars with tinted windows, driving dangerously and putting the lives of the couple, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in danger, according to a spokesman.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near-disaster car chase at the hands of a very aggressive paparazzi,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting two hours, resulted in a near collision with other drivers on the road, a pedestrian and two NYPD. [New York Police Department] officer.”
The pair were shaken by the incident but were unhurt.
The prince has long spoken of his anger at press intrusion, which he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died when the car she was in crashed while fleeing a paparazzi chase in Paris in 1997.
A spokeswoman for the couple said the chase on Tuesday, after leaving the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, could have turned fatal and involved paparazzi driving on sidewalks, running red lights and driving while taking pictures.
Those involved in the chase were confronted by police officers several times, according to the spokesman.
The New York Police Department said it had enlisted the help of a private security team to protect the couple.
“There are a lot of photographers making transportation a challenge. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests reported,” said an NYPD spokesperson.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he had received information that two NYPD officers may have been injured in the incident.
“I don’t think a lot of people don’t remember how their mother died,” Adams told reporters. “And it would be terrible to lose an innocent person in a pursuit like this and something like this happened.”
He said he would be given an in-depth briefing later, but he found it hard to believe there would be a two-hour high-speed chase.
“If it’s 10 minutes, a 10-minute chase is very dangerous in New York City,” Adams said.
Foundation Ms. for Women, the organizers of the awards ceremony where Meghan was honored for her work, did not immediately comment.
‘Highly intrusive practice’
Images that have since emerged on social media show Harry, Meghan and their mother sitting in the back of a New York taxi, which a spokesman said showed “a small glimpse of the defense and bait needed to stop the harassment.”
The couple, who live in California with their two children, had been staying at a private home but decided not to return there because they did not want to compromise the individual’s safety, the spokesman said.
“When it comes to being a public figure with the level of interest from the public, it should never be at the expense of anyone’s safety,” the spokesman said. “The dissemination of these images, in the manner in which they were obtained, encourages intrusive practices that are harmful to all involved.”
Harry has never hidden his distaste for the press, due to the treatment his mother received and his own experiences, especially when he was younger.
Prince Harry’s memoirs were officially released today and have already set sales records. Critics say the book’s focus on salacious details has sidelined a meaningful examination of its potential impact on the monarchy.
In his memoirs sparethe Netflix documentary series and the couple’s TV interviews, they dismissed the British tabloids that invaded their privacy and that of their family, and this was one of the main reasons they and Meghan stepped down from their royal roles in 2020 and moved to the United States. country.
The prince is currently involved in a series of court cases in London where he accuses the paper of using illegal means to target him and his family. While the newspaper has denied almost all of the allegations, one publisher last week apologized for illegally seeking information about him in 2004.
He is also seeking to overturn the UK government’s decision to take him under specialist police protection while he is in the UK.
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