LAST UPDATE | 17 May 2023

PRINCE HARRY AND his wife Meghan Markle were involved in an over two-hour long ‘near-catastrophic’ car chase last night in New York, a spokesperson for the couple has said.

In a statement the spokesperson said: “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.”

The chase resulted in “multiple near collisions” involving pedestrians, police officers and other drivers using the road.

Prince Harry, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, believe the pursuit could have been fatal, as it involved six blacked-out vehicles with unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them.

In a statement, New York Police Department said it assisted the couple’s private security team as “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.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Ms Foundation for Women’s 50th anniversary celebration in New York City in the US where Markle won the 2023 Women of Vision Award.

It’s stated the “relentless pursuit” happened after the pair had left the awards ceremony and were staying at a private residence and did not want to compromise the security of their friend’s home.

The couple’s spokesperson said: “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.”

They added that the taking and sharing of these images “encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved”, because of the way they were taken.

According to Press Association, traffic violations included driving on the pavement and through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, illegally blocking a moving vehicle and driving while photographing and while on the phone; that while those involved were confronted by uniformed police multiple times, they continued the pursuit; and there is footage taken from security along with other evidence to support these allegations.

The New York mayor described the paparazzi who allegedly pursued the couple as “reckless and irresponsible”.

Eric Adams said that it would be “horrific” for Harry to be involved in an accident similar to the one that killed his mother Diana in 1997.

“The briefing I received, two of our [police] officers could have been injured.

“New York City is different from a small town somewhere (…) this is a densely populated city.

“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how his mum died, and it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them.”

Additional reporting from Press Association