Prince Harry and Duchess Megan’s account of Tuesday night’s events differs greatly from the accounts of officials and the paparazzi.
Prince Harry and Duchess Megan got into a dangerous situation on Tuesday night when the paparazzi followed the couple and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland into a taxi in New York. The couple’s rep described being followed for two hours by “very aggressive paparazzi”.
According to the representative, it was a “near-destructive chase” which led to dangerous situations, according to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s representative.
Duchess Meghan and her mother, Dora Ragland, are photographed at the Women of Vision Gala on Tuesday evening. Photo: TheImageDirect.com / The Image Direct / MVPhotos
The international media reported extensively on Prince Harry and Duchess Megan’s “scary taxi ride,” but details soon became public that put the duke couple’s story in a completely different light.
So what happened in New York on Tuesday night? There is very conflicting information circulating in the public about the series of events.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stand by their statement that it was a dangerous chase. On the other hand, officials have said in their statements that the situation was not as dramatic as Harry and Meghan made it out to be.
Sukhcharan Singhan, the taxi driver who drove the duke and duchess, Ragland and their security guard, told The Washington Post that it was not a chase. According to the taxi driver, two cars kept trying to drive up next to the taxi and people in the cars took pictures.
– But at no point did I feel like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a chase in a movie, Singh told The Washington Post.
READ MORE: Taxi driver who took Prince Harry to WP: ‘I wouldn’t call it a chase’
New York Police said that no one was injured and the conditions did not lead to accidents. On the other hand, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, criticized the paparazzi, but in the same breath denied the Sussexes’ story, describing a “stalking” that could have happened in his city as well.
I don’t think a two-hour chase would have happened here, he said in a speech quoted by the New York Times, adding that even a ten-minute chase in the city would be “extremely dangerous”. ,
Watch the video below for CBS News coverage of Tuesday night’s events. The taxi driver who drove the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview can be seen at about 2 minutes in:
Zara Saeed, an eyewitness interviewed by news agency AP, says paparazzi waited for the couple at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, the Women of Vision gala venue, and were aggressive.
– The couple’s bodyguards prevented the paparazzi from getting too close to Harry and Meghan. Harry and Meghan were harassed by the paparazzi. He made negative comments to react to the couple.
“The car chase reminded me of what happened to Prince Harry’s mother, and it was shocking,” Sayeed told the AP.
The alleged “chase” has generated a lot of discussion in the international media as well as on social media. Few have wondered how a chase on the crowded streets of New York would be possible.
Accounts also differ of the duration of the “chase” and of the number of paparazzi. According to the taxi driver who took the couple, the taxi ride lasted about ten minutes and the taxi was followed by some journalists.
Chris Sanchez, a member of Harry’s security team, told CNN that the Duke and Duchess were followed by “about a dozen” vehicles “along the pavements” and “towards a red light”.
– I have never seen anything like it. It was completely chaotic, Sanchez claimed.
On the other hand, a New York police source who remained anonymous said that there was a “pack” of paparazzi and they behaved aggressively. According to the claims, when the taxi carrying the Duke and Duchess was too far away to reach, photographers zoomed by on mopeds turning onto the footpath.
The unnamed paparazzi involved in the situation accused the taxi driver who delivered the Duke and Duchess on Good Morning Britain of causing the chaos.
– He went in a zigzag, the taxi passed in front of the photographers and stuck to the side, claimed the paparazzi.
The veracity of Harry and Meghan’s story has been questioned and so far no photographs or video footage of Tuesday evening’s events have been released.
READ MORE: This is now known about Harry’s ‘stalking’ – New York mayor rubbishes prince’s story
What is known for sure about what happened is that the couple left the Women of Vision gala around 10 p.m. local time. Their car got stuck in a traffic jam, after which a police car followed the couple and took them to the police station, where the Duke and Duchess left in a taxi.
Harry and Meghan left the Women of Vision gala on Tuesday night, but after that it’s unclear what really happened on the streets of New York. Photo: TheImageDirect.com / The Image Direct / MVPhotos
Photographers followed the taxi carrying the couple and the driver decided to go back to the police station. ABC News has been told by the New York Police that the patrol eventually helped the Duke couple continue their journey.
According to a representative for the duke couple, the car was changed because they wanted to get rid of the paparazzi following the car. Harry and Meghan are said to have stayed at a friend’s house in New York, and according to newspaper reports, they did not want the paparazzi to follow them to their home.
The Independent magazine says Harry and Meghan have asked photo agency Backgrind to hand over photos and videos of the alleged stalking.
– We demand that Backgrind immediately hand over all photos and videos taken by their freelance photographers after the couple left the event, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lawyer demanded in the letter.
Backgrind, on the other hand, published the equivalent of a tip, in which the company declined to provide photos of the couple.
– In the US, as you probably know, third parties cannot demand the owner (of photographs) to hand them over, as perhaps a monarch might, quipped Backgrind.
In his response, Backgrind also argued that royalty does not receive special treatment in the United States, but is followed by law in the United States.
US media say Prince Harry may have shot video footage of the “chase” on his phone. However, till now Rajkumar has not made his shot video public.
International media have also highlighted the fact that Harry and Meghan’s security team may not have been adequately trained.
Ken Wharf, a former bodyguard who worked at the British court, told the PA news agency there was room for improvement in communication between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their security team.
Ghat says Tuesday night was all chaos, even before the famous taxi ride. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Women of Vision Gala on Tuesday. The ex-bodyguard says it appears Harry and Meghan’s security team were not up to the task.
Their departure from the hotel was chaotic even before their awkward drive began, says the former bodyguard.
– Harry must be involved in the plan. He knows the potential dangers better than anyone. Wharf told the PA that bodyguards need to form a personal relationship with the people they protect, and suspected the pair could find themselves in similar situations in the future if communication is not broken .
Watch Sky News Australia’s coverage of the alleged chase in the video below:
