A video shows paparazzi harassing Meghan Markle in NYC before she and Harry were involved in a car chase
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said they were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" in NYC.
Before the chase, paparazzi harassed Meghan as she tried to walk through a crowd of photographers.
One paparazzo tried to get Meghan's attention by asking her about being from "two broken families."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in what their spokesperson described as a "near catastrophic car chase" in New York City.
On Tuesday, Harry and Meghan attended the Women of Vision awards ceremony with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland.
As they left the event, they were pursued "by a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi" in six blacked-out vehicles, a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement provided to royal reporter Omid Scobie.
"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers," the statement said.
Scobie said the drivers committed multiple traffic violations as they pursued the Sussexes and Ragland, including "driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle."
In a statement to Insider, the NYPD said it "assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex" on Tuesday night.
"There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging," Julian Phillips, the deputy commissioner of public information for the NYPD, said. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard."
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Prior to the car chase, a video was shared on social media of paparazzi waiting for Harry and Meghan. In the video, a massive group surrounds Meghan, who can barely be seen exiting a black SUV with Ragland amid the throng of paparazzi.
The video, which was shared on Twitter, seemingly came from the Daily Mail, as it featured the outlet's watermark in one corner and "Dan Bates for DailyMail.com" in another.
—Paula Matanovich🍷 (@paulamatanovich) May 17, 2023
A security officer quickly ushered Meghan and Ragland inside a Hertz rental store as photographers attempted to get her attention, with one person even making an inflammatory statement to try to get the duchess to interact with him.
"Meghan, how do you feel about being part of two broken families?" one paparazzo called to her as she passed.
He seemed to be referencing her estrangement from her father, Thomas Markle, and Prince Harry's fractured relationship with King Charles and Prince William.
Harry attended King Charles' coronation on May 6, but he did not publicly interact with his father or his brother at the event. He also left for the airport immediately after the ceremony ended. Meghan did not attend the coronation.
Buckingham Palace said the car chase "isn't something we're commenting on" when contacted by Insider about the incident.
Correction: May 18, 2023 — The headline and lede of this story originally included an unattributed quote from the Sussex spokesperson. The headline now reads that Prince Harry and Meghan were in a car chase, not a "near catastrophic car chase," while the lede credits the couples' spokesperson with the quote.
Read the original article on Insider