Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s publicist, Ashley Hansen, has told Page Six that the couple’s “near catastrophic” car chase on May 16 was not “a PR stunt.”
“Respectfully, considering the Duke’s family history, one would have to think nothing of the couple or anybody associated with them to believe this was any sort of PR stunt,” Ms. Hansen said.
“Quite frankly, I think that’s abhorrent.”
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At the time, it was reported that when The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, alongside Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, headed home to their hotel from the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awars in New York City, they were followed by paparazzi.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” a spokesperson for the couple claimed to Page Six.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers. 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.”
In response to these claims, the New York Police Department released a short statement and confirmed that photographers did make Harry and Meghan’s journey from the Women of Vision Awards “challenging” but stressed that no collisions, injuries, or arrests occurred.
“The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the statement said.
“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.”
It’s been reported by several outlets including the BBC, The Telegraph and Page Six, that Harry, Meghan and Doria left the event in an SUV but after being chased by paparazzi, sought help at a police station. From there, the trio reportedly left the police station in a taxi in the hopes of evading the photographers.
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The BBC spoke to Sukhcharn ‘Sonny’ Singh, a man who claims he was the taxi driver who drove Harry, Meghan, Doria and a security guard from the station.
“A security guard hailed me, next thing you know Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab,” Sonny said.
“As we went a block, we got blocked by a garbage truck and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures. They were just about to give me the location of where they were going to go, but then they told me to circle back to the precinct.”
Sonny further revealed that he thought Harry and Meghan were “nice people” who “looked nervous”. But Sonny also said that he did not think the paparazzi were “aggressive” and claims of a ‘near catastrophic chase’ were perhaps exaggerated.
“New York is the safest place to be – there’s police stations, cops on every corner… [The paparazzi] were behind us… they kept their distance,” Sonny said.
ET has reported that neither Buckingham nor Kensington Palace will be commenting on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s claims of a car chase. The palace also had no comment when People Magazine reached out on May 17.
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A source told the publication, “Since Harry and Meghan have stepped back from royal duties, the palace generally does not comment on their activities.”
The Women of Vision Awards was Harry and Meghan’s first public outing since King Charles’ coronation. Meghan was one of the honorees at the event, and icon Gloria Steinem presented her award.
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