Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s talked-about car chase throughout New York City could prompt arrests, according to the New York Police Department.
“We found the following: reckless disregard of vehicle and traffic laws and persistently dangerous and unacceptable behavior on the part of the paparazzi during the night in question,” the NYPD intelligence chief wrote to the Metropolitan Police in London in December 2023, which was published by The Daily Beast on Wednesday, February 28.
The statement added, “Our conclusion, upon review with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, is that we have sufficient evidence to arrest two individuals for reckless endangerment.”
Back in May 2023, Harry, 39, Meghan, 42, and her mother, Doria Ragland, were visiting New York City for the 2023 Women of Vision Awards, where the Duchess of Sussex was among the honorees. After leaving the awards ceremony, the trio hopped into a yellow taxi back to their hotel and were followed by a fleet of 12 photographers.
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According to the NYPD chief, the photographers used vehicles, scooters and bicycles “in a manner that forced the security team … to take evasive actions on several occasions.” The paparazzi’s actions also led the royals’ security to take a “circuitous route to avoid being struck by pursuing vehicles or trapped on side blocks.”
After the incident, the Sussexes’ rep told Us Weekly in a statement that the “relentless pursuit” lasted for more than two hours and involved “multiple near-collisions” with other drivers, pedestrians and NYPD officers.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images
“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,” the spokesperson added. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”
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A source later asserted to Us that Harry and Meghan had “absolutely not exaggerated” the incident.
“For people to say otherwise is so hurtful and out of line,” the insider told Us several weeks later. “As far as staying out of sight and being scared to show their faces, that’s not going to happen. [This has] just strengthened their resolve to keep standing up for themselves and speaking out when they feel wronged.”
Many individuals had compared Harry and Meghan’s “near catastrophic” ordeal to the fatal car crash that killed the Duke of Sussex’s mother, Princess Diana. Diana died in August 1997 after a similar chase in Paris. Harry was 12 at the time.
“For a long time, I just refused to accept that she was gone. Part of [it was] she would never do this to us. But also, part of it maybe [felt like] this is all part of a plan,” Harry said during a January 2023 interview on 60 Minutes. “For a time [I believed she was alive] and then she would call us, and we would go and join her.”