A spokesman mentioned Prince Harry and Meghan had been concerned in a “catastrophic close to automotive chase” with paparazzi in New York Metropolis

New York Britain’s Prince Harry, his spouse Meghan and her mom had been concerned in a “near-disastrous automotive chase” in New York Metropolis on Tuesday evening, their workplace mentioned.

It occurred after the award ceremony on the Ziegfeld Ballroom within the metropolis heart.

The couple had simply attended the gala by the Woman Basis for Ladies, which honored Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

It occurred as quickly because the couple and Megan’s mom, Doria Ragland, left the ceremony. Neither Harry nor Meghan had been injured.

Right here is the total assertion from their workplace:

“Final evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Woman Ragland had been concerned in a near-disastrous automotive chase by a extremely aggressive gang of paparazzi.

This relentless chase, which lasted for greater than two hours, resulted in a number of close-by collisions involving different drivers on the street, a pedestrian and two NYPD officers. Whereas public determine comes with a stage of curiosity from the general public, it shouldn’t include a worth. of anybody’s security.

“The publication of those photos, given the methods by which they had been obtained, encourages a extremely intrusive apply that’s harmful for all concerned.”

NYPD sources instructed CBS New York that a number of automobiles adopted the automotive Harry and Meghan had been in after they left an occasion on the Ziegfeld Ballroom. These similar sources say they’re now reviewing video proof to piece collectively precisely what occurred.

Zara Saeed was within the crowd outdoors attempting to catch a glimpse of the couple.

“Loads of paparazzi had been harassing Meghan and Harry,” she mentioned. “As they depart, the best way they chase the automotive, it simply reminds you of all the opposite scenes you’ve seen previously with Prince Harry’s mom.”

“You’ve had automobiles and automobiles and bikes going the flawed means,” one man mentioned.

Legislation enforcement sources instructed CBS Information that after leaving the occasion round 10 p.m., the couple didn’t need the paparazzi figuring out the place they lived, so that they circled downtown for greater than an hour with NYPD squad automobiles offering crowd management.

Police say that whereas Harry and Meghan weren’t in any hazard, two uniformed officers might have been injured at one level.

The NYPD initially mentioned formally that “the incident is beneath investigation.” Nevertheless, in a brand new assertion, the NYPD supplied its personal evaluation of what occurred:

“on [Tuesday] On Could 16, the New York Police Particular Safety Group helped defend the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There have been many photographers who made their switch tough. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived at their vacation spot and there have been no stories of collisions, summonses, accidents or arrests.”

Suchcharn Singh drove the couple in his yellow automotive for about 10 minutes of this complete ordeal.

“I feel it’s all, , hyperbole and stuff like that,” he mentioned.

He says once they had been in his automotive, he didn’t see the paparazzi act notably aggressive.

“No, no, no, no, this will need to have occurred earlier, if they’d been chased earlier than,” Singh mentioned.

Watch Tim McNicholas’ report

They finally went to a police station, the place the couple switched automobiles and returned safely to the place they had been staying.

Royal professional Kate Williams mentioned: “It is a state of affairs many celebrities undergo, however Harry and Meghan have, particularly for the British paparazzi, the perfect cash.”

He criticized Mayor Eric Adams Those that went after Harry and Meghan as “reckless and irresponsible”.

“Clearly the press, the paparazzi, they need to get the best image, they need to get the best story. However public security ought to at all times be first. The briefing I had, two of our officers could have been injured. New York Metropolis is completely different from a small city someplace. You shouldn’t be going quick anyplace, however it is a densely populated metropolis. And I feel all of us, I don’t suppose there are lots of of us, who don’t bear in mind how his mom died. And it might be a horrible factor to lose an harmless bystander throughout a chase like that and one thing that occurred to them too,” Adams mentioned. “So I feel we have now to be very accountable. I believed that was reckless and just a little bit irresponsible,” Adams mentioned. “I discover it onerous to imagine there was a two-hour high-speed chase, that will be — I discover it onerous to imagine. However we’ll discover out the precise size of that. But when it’s 10 minutes, the minute chase may be very harmful in New York Metropolis. We’ve a whole lot of visitors, And a whole lot of visitors, lots of people utilizing our streets. Any sort of high-speed chase that entails one thing like that’s inappropriate.”

Adams added, “Police do it in restricted circumstances, once they’re after violent folks. However doing it since you need to get the best shot can flip into a spot the place folks may be damage in an actual means.”

John Miller, former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, spoke in regards to the incident on CNN.

“This initially got here out as a narrative of, , they acquired right into a automotive accident yesterday, and it looks like it’s not like that. What’s the case, speaking to folks in regards to the protecting element that’s meant for, are they overwhelmed by the paparazzi are folks in automobiles. These had been folks on motorbikes. It was These are folks on motorbikes that circle the car in downtown visitors,” Miller mentioned. “And now you’ve got the NYPD crew that’s the protecting element behind the lead car, and there’s mopeds and bikes working in between, in entrance of them, crossing in entrance of them. They’re attempting to create a long way, and it’s getting worse. So, ultimately, in frustration, they make a management determination,” he says. You understand, by attempting to sluggish the visitors down first, flip off a avenue, get a long way. It didn’t work, as a result of then the bikes flew onto the sidewalks and pedestrians splattered,” Miller mentioned. “So that they went to the nineteenth arrondissement. That’s 67th Avenue in Manhattan. They closed off each ends of the road, principally created a barricade. Then they spent some time, A, attempting to relax on this and say ‘OK, what’s our strategic plan to get to the following location with out Convey this complete crowd. “

Whereas the NYPD is effectively practiced at defending presidents and even royalty, Miller says the Sussexes pose a novel safety problem.

“If you take royals and tabloids internationally and put them collectively, you get a sure journalistic hysteria that simply doesn’t match the conventional mould, and that’s what they confronted yesterday,” he mentioned.

Harry and Meghan have at all times been outspoken about aggressive paparazzi, and Harry has acknowledged previously that he feels it was the overzealous paparazzi who precipitated the loss of life of his mom, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris automotive crash as a limousine. He was chased by the paparazzi in Paris.

Backgrade Media mentioned in a press release that 4 freelance photographers who had been there Tuesday evening reported “there have been no close to misses throughout this incident.”

All of it comes as Prince Harry is difficult the British authorities in courtroom over its determination to disclaim him the best to pay for police safety when he visits the UK.