Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s spokesperson claimed the couple were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase following their appearance at a New York City awards gala on May 16. However, the New York City Police Department’s official statement appears to contain conflicting information. Here’s how they differ.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claims of ‘near catastrophic’ car chase appear to conflict with NYPD’s statement
According to a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the couple, along with her mother, Doria Ragland, was involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase after leaving the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards on May 16, 2023. The couple’s statement claims a two-hour “relentless pursuit” ensued and resulted in “multiple near collisions” with other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD police officers.
However, in a separate statement, the NYPD appears to share a conflicting version of events. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, May 17, that its officers “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
“There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” Julian Phillips, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of public information, said in a statement to the Times. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination, and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
A separate police officer told Page Six, “We only had one car as part of this. [The chase] definitely wasn’t two hours.”
Other details regarding the evening have emerged
Prince Harry supported Meghan Markle at the Ms. Magazine gala. They left around 10 p.m. on May 16, accompanied by a private security team. The couple exited the Ziegfeld Ballroom into a waiting black SUV where multiple photographers waited.
A New York news station reported photographers were unaware of where the couple was staying that evening. Therefore, their vehicle was reportedly driven up and down the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, the main thoroughfare of Manhattan’s East Side, for 75 minutes in an attempt to thwart paparazzi.
The couple was subsequently driven to the NYPD’s 19th Precinct Station House on the Upper East Side. Multiple reports claim they stayed at the station for 15 minutes before getting into a taxi and leaving.
The Sussex’s cab driver, Sukhcharn Singh, claims he recognized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Ragland and a security escort. “They were following us the whole time,” Singh said of the paparazzi. He also said he wouldn’t call the experience a chase.
“They had this look on their faces,” Singh said of Harry and Meghan but did not elaborate further. The cab was followed by a New York City police cruiser.
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A garbage truck reportedly blocked their path. Paparazzi began taking photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as captured in a video published by TMZ.
In the video clip, Ragland and Markle were seated calmly in the back of the cab. Prince Harry recorded the events on his phone. New reports claim Prince Harry will reportedly hand his video over to the New York City Police Department.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams calls allegations of a NYC chase ‘hard to believe’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claim at a May 17 press conference. “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,” he said.
Adams continued, “The briefing I received, two of our officers could’ve been injured. New York City is different from some small towns somewhere.”
“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, and it would be horrific to lose innocent bystanders during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well.”
The NYC mayor added: “I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase, that would be—I’d find that hard to believe. But we will find out the exact duration of it. But if it’s 10 minutes, a 10-minute chase is extremely dangerous in New York City.”
Details continue to emerge regarding the events surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the Women of Vision Awards. At the event, Meghan and others for doing their part in advancing women’s collective power.
Elements of this story were first reported by Newsweek and NBC 4
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