Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were caught Tuesday evening in New York in a “race chase” involving “very aggressive paparazzi” and the outcome of which could have been “catastrophic”, said in a press release the door -word of the couple.
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This “relentless chase, which lasted nearly two hours, almost caused collisions with other drivers, pedestrians and two New York police officers”, added this spokesperson in an email, the prince and his wife living in California.
The couple, who were in a car with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, had just left a party in New York where the Duchess of Sussex received an award from the philanthropic and feminist organization Ms. Foundation for Women.
According to AFP journalists covering the gala, the prince and his wife did not walk the red carpet and entered and left the back of the building where the evening was taking place.
“Although a public figure arouses interest, this should never be to the detriment of anyone’s safety”, warned the spokesperson, denouncing the “dissemination of these images […] encouraging a very intrusive practice [dans la vie privée] which is dangerous”.
New York police did not respond to requests from AFP.
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, left the British Royal Family in early 2020 to move to California due to conflict and tension, and pressure from the media.
Harry has long blamed the press and paparazzi for causing the car crash in Paris in August 1997 that killed his mother, Princess Diana.
According to a source close to the couple, the chase involved half a dozen vehicles “at the wheel of which individuals were driving recklessly and dangerously for the procession and everyone around”.
“The chase could have been fatal,” said the source.
Harry came flying and alone on May 6 to London for the coronation of his father, Charles III.
The couple is indeed very unpopular in the UK. The tabloids are ruthless and Harry has several legal disputes with them.
The “Sussex” are accused of having slammed the door in 2020, then criticized the powerful and secret royal family, and of having revealed behind the scenes and the dissensions to the whole world.
In The alternate, Huge bookstore hit written by Harry, William, the heir to the throne, is portrayed as short-tempered, to the point in 2019 of throwing his brother to the ground during an argument over Meghan.