Memories of Princess Diana’s death almost 26 years ago are immediately awakened: According to their spokesman, Prince Harry (38) and his wife Duchess Meghan (41) were followed by press photographers in New York and almost involved in a serious accident. Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland (66) was also in the car.
New York Mayor Eric Adams condemned the incident as “reckless and irresponsible”. The New York police initially had no knowledge of the incident, as a spokeswoman for the dpa said.
According to dpa information from the couple’s environment, however, scenes should have played out like in an action film that could have ended “deadly”. Six vehicles with darkened windows raced ruthlessly around the celebrity convoy. Cars slammed down the sidewalk and shot through red lights, backing up on a one-way street and blocking a moving car. The drivers took pictures at the wheel and made phone calls.
Although repeatedly confronted by uniformed police officers, they rushed off to continue the pursuit. There are recordings of security guards who documented what was happening. However, there are no immediate plans to make corresponding film recordings public, said a spokeswoman for the couple when asked by dpa.
“This Relentless Pursuit”
“Last night the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Mrs Ragland were involved in a near-disastrous chase by a group of extremely aggressive paparazzi,” the statement said. “This relentless chase, which lasted more than two hours, resulted in multiple near misses with other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two New York City Police Department officers.” As dpa learned, the couple stayed with friends and did not want to lead the paparazzi to their address.
“It’s clear that the press, the paparazzi, want to get the right photos,” New York City Mayor Adams said in response to a question at a news conference on a different topic. “But public safety must always come first.” He was told that two police officers could have been injured. However, he finds it “hard to believe” that the incident should have lasted two hours. In view of the masses of vehicles and people on the streets of New York, a minute-long chase can be “extremely dangerous”.
Harry’s mother, Diana, died in a traffic accident in Paris in August 1997 when she was being pursued by paparazzi. Harry has repeatedly reported how much the death of his mother burdens him. At just 13, Harry followed Diana’s coffin on foot through London alongside his father Charles – the current King – and older brother William. The pictures went around the world. In his biography “Reserve”, the prince described how he tried to process the accident: During a visit to Paris, he had a taxi drive him through the tunnel in which his mother had an accident – at exactly the same speed as her car back then.
Harry’s fight against the tabloids
The incident described in New York is likely to cause further damage to the already miserable relationship between the 38-year-old and the tabloids. Harry keeps blaming the British “tabloids” for his mother’s death. In a BBC documentary he once said: “Every time she went out there was a pack of people waiting for her. Like a pack of dogs, they followed her, chased her, molested her, insulted her, spat on her , trying to get a reaction, the one photo of her thrashing about.”
Harry also blames the press for the bad relationship with the royal family around King Charles and heir to the throne William. Harry is currently suing several publishers in London, whom he accuses of having unlawfully obtained information about him. The prince is also suing the British government’s decision not to give him police protection even if he pays for it himself.
“Although public figures may attract some interest from the public, it should never be at the expense of anyone’s safety,” Harry’s rep said, warning against releasing the images taken by the paparazzi: “Distributing these images encourages given the manner in which they were obtained, an extremely intrusive practice dangerous to all involved.”
Meghan received an award for her commitment to women and girls in New York on Tuesday evening. It was the couple’s first public appearance together since Harry was alone at his father’s coronation in England on May 6th.
