Harry and Meghan quit their royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States partly because of what they described as intense media harassment. The prince has long spoken out about his anger about press intrusion which he blames for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed when her limousine crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
On may 16, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were chased by paparazzi in New York, according to an Indian-American cab driver who drove them for about 10 minutes after picking them up at a police station in Manhattan.
Sukhcharn Singh, the driver who drove the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said he instantly recognised his passengers. He told, “I was on 67th Street and then the security guard hailed me. Next thing you know, Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab, we got blocked by a garbage truck, and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures,” he said. He then mentioned that both of them were about to give him their location but told him to go back to the police station.
In a statement, Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said on Wednesday the couple had experienced a “near catastrophic car chase.”
The New York Police Department (NYPD) later said they assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” it said. The police, however, said the couple “arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests.” They were in New York to attend an awards ceremony – the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards – along with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland. After leaving from there, the spokesperson said, the couple tried to avoid the paparazzi by going to a Manhattan police station – which is where Singh picked them up.
Singh laughed when asked if it was a “near catastrophic car chase”. “I don’t think that’s true, it’s exaggerated. Don’t read too much into that,” he said. When asked if he felt he or his passengers were in danger, he said, “No, New York City is the safest place to be”, adding that there are police personnel on every corner.
The report quoted him saying that he drove them for a brief period, during which they were pursued by other vehicles. He estimated that the entire journey lasted 10 minutes, he got the impression from them that they were already being pursued by paparazzi before entering his car. Then he said they were pursued by two vehicles: who kept following then and were coming next to film them. Singh also mentioned that the guard thought they were too exposed and didn’t want their location shared more widely, so he asked him to return to the police station.