The British Royals are at it again, this time in the “Big Apple.” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also known as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markel, found themselves in a reported two-hour car chase fleeing paparazzi through New York City streets.
The Royal couple was in New York to attend an award event where Megan received the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award.
According to Thomas Buda, a security contractor hired by the couple, said the 90-minute chase started the moment they left the Ziegfeld Ballroom following the event.
CNN reported the chase as a “near catastrophic” despite no known injuries or citations from police.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the chase as “irresponsible” and “reckless.” The mayor continued that New York is densely populated and drivers should not be speeding anywhere in the city.
Public safety outweighs the right of the paparazzi to get the idea shout of the high-profile couple, said the mayor.
Prince Harry has talked extensively about the value of the couple’s security, yet in his Netflix docuseries, he downplayed any problem they had with the paparazzi.
Reports by police and others recounted how a “swarm” of paparazzi riding motorcycles, in cars, on scooters, after exiting the awards ceremony.
The paparazzi ignored pedestrians in crosswalks when running red lights, drove in the wrong direction on Manhattan’s 34th Street, and drove the wrong direction on one-way streets.
A police team followed the Royals in a separate car and was forced to resort to evasive driving to avoid collisions with the chasers.
When possible, the paparazzi riding on scooters and motorcycles drove on sidewalks trying to keep up with Harry and Megan’s car.
The police got the convoy to a nearby police precinct to damper the dangerous chase and reorganize how best to proceed.
The newly crowned King Charles and Prince William told reporters they had no comment on the New York City Street chase.
Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died in Paris from injuries suffered in a 1997 collision following a high-speed chase with paparazzi.
