Harry, Meghan and her mom concerned in ‘near catastrophic car chase with paparazzi’
The “relentless pursuit” which was “at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” lasted over two hours and resulted in a number of close to collisions, they stated.
The close to collisions have been “involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers,” they added.
“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,” they stated.
“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”
The couple’s spokesperson stated the chase might have been deadly and concerned paparazzi driving on the sidewalk, working purple lights, and driving whereas taking footage.
The pursuit is known to have concerned six blacked-out automobiles with unidentified individuals driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everybody round them.
Pictures which have appeared on social media present Harry, Meghan and her mom sitting behind a New York taxi.
Omid Scobie, a journalist and co-author of Finding Freedom, claimed that the automobiles continued their pursuit of the couple regardless of being confronted by uniformed officers.
“Traffic violations by the drivers include driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle,” he stated.
The incident followed Meghan’s attendance at Tuesday night’s Ms Foundation for Women’s 50th anniversary gala event in Manhattan together with her husband and mom Doria Ragland.
The BBC stated it was understood the pair have been staying at a pal’s residence in New York and didn’t return immediately after leaving the occasion on the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan to keep away from compromising their safety through the chase.
Police stated there had been no accidents or arrests.
Julian Phillips, the deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department, stated officers “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.
He continued: “There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams described the actions of the photographers as “reckless and irresponsible”.
He added: “You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere, but this is a densely populated city, and I think all of us, I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how his mom died.
“It’s clear that the paparazzi want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront.”
It was the couple’s first public outing collectively since Harry made the solo journey to the King’s Coronation earlier this month.
While Harry flew to London to attend his father’s coronation, Meghan opted to remain at their US residence in Montecito, California, with their two youngsters Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The occasion got here amid a number of High Court trials involving Harry within the UK.
The Duke is making an attempt to carry a second authorized problem in opposition to the Home Office over his safety preparations when within the UK.
He can be bringing a contested declare in opposition to Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over allegations of illegal info gathering.
The trial – anticipated to last as long as seven weeks – started final week, with the duke set to look as a witness in June.
Harry can be considered one of a number of seven individuals, additionally together with David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Sir Simon Hughes, bringing authorized motion in opposition to Associated Newspapers Limited over denied allegations it carried out or commissioned illegal info gathering.
The allegations embody hiring personal investigators to put listening units inside automobiles, “blagging” personal data and accessing and recording personal telephone conversations.
ANL, which “firmly” denies the allegations, requested a decide to rule in its favour and not using a trial, arguing the authorized challenges in opposition to it have been introduced “far too late”.
Prince Harry’s mom, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 automobile crash in Paris whereas being chased by photographers.