Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving "a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi" in New York, a spokesperson for Harry said in a statement.

What You Need To Know

  • Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving "a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi" in New York on Tuesday, a spokesperson said

  • The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed for more than two hours by half a dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event

  • In a statement, the NYPD said that "the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard"

  • New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters he hadn’t received a full briefing about the incident yet, but he called it “reckless and irresponsible” for anyone to be chasing people in vehicles in the densely populated city, and said that “two of our officers could have been injured"

  • Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris

Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, was also in the car, per Harry's spokesperson. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed for more than two hours by half a dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event.

"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two [New York Police Department] officers," the 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,” the statement from the couple said.

In a statement, the NYPD said that they "assisted" the team of private security protecting Harry and Meghan, and noted the fact that "there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging."

But, the NYPD added, "the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters he hadn’t received a full briefing about the incident yet, but he called it “reckless and irresponsible” for anyone to be chasing people in vehicles in the densely populated city, and said that “two of our officers could have been injured.”

"It's clear that ... the press, paparazzis, they want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront," Adams said. "At the briefing I received, two of our officers could have been injured. New York City is different from small town somewhere. You shouldn't be speeding anywhere, but this is a densely populated city."

"I don't think there's many of us who don't recall how his mom died and it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happen to them as well, so I think we have to be extremely responsible," Adams added. "I thought that was a bit reckless and irresponsible."

Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris.

Bruce Cotler, the president of the New York Press Photographers Association, issued a statement critical of the paparrazi's alleged behavior.

"The basic principle of photojournalism is to cover the news as documentarians and observers," Cotler's statement reads. "The behavior alleged to have occurred in New York last night goes against this principle at its core, and runs counter to the code of ethics to which all of our members-and any press photographer with respect for themselves and the profession-are expected to adhere."

Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, and the former actress Meghan Markle married at Windsor Castle in 2018 but stepped down as working royals in 2020, citing what they described as the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.

Harry’s fury at the media has been building for years. He blames an overly aggressive press for the death of his mother, and also accuses the media of hounding Meghan.

He has made it his mission to reform the press and is currently suing three British tabloid publishers over alleged phone hacking and other unlawful snooping. In 2021 Meghan won an invasion of privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

Security for Harry and Meghan has been an issue since the British government stripped them of protection when they moved to California in 2020 and it figures in three of his legal cases against the government and tabloid press.

The chase occurred the same day a lawyer for Harry argued in a London court that he should be able to challenge a government decision denying him the right to pay police for his own security in the U.K.

Harry has argued his safety was “compromised due to the absence of police protection” during a short visit to the U.K. in July 2021, when his car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event.

The couple have said they funded their own security after former President Donald Trump said the U.S. government wouldn’t pay to protect them.

Meghan had been in New York to accept the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown.

Video taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed Harry and Meghan exiting Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ballroom and getting into an SUV as crowds of pedestrians and photographers gawked.

Another video posted by TMZ showed the couple in a yellow New York City taxicab, stuck in traffic several blocks away from the ballroom, as photographers recorded them through the windows. The cab was being escorted by NYPD vehicles with flashing lights.

The event was her first public appearance since she skipped the coronation of her father-in-law King Charles III earlier this month in order to stay at home in California for her son Prince Archie’s fourth birthday. Her husband Prince Harry attended the coronation in London and then rushed back to California.