Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were involved in a “nearly catastrophic” incident with the paparazzi on Tuesday night, immediately drawing parallels to Princess Diana’s death in 1997. The car chase happened after the Duchess of Sussex received an award in New York City. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was also in the vehicle.
“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. This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two [New York Police Department] officers,” a spokesperson for the couple tells Yahoo Entertainment. “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.”
Yahoo reached out to the NYPD for comment. Police told NBC New York that they have no information about the incident involving Harry and Meghan described above, but received numerous calls about it.
Meghan and Harry made their first red carpet appearance together on Tuesday since the coronation of King Charles III. The Suits star received the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award at the organization’s annual gala for her global advocacy work empowering women and girls.
Prince Harry has spoken out before about how he sees a parallel between the British press’s treatment of his mother and wife.
“My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did. History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white and now look what’s happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself, they’re not going to stop until [Meghan] dies,” he said in 2021 on AppleTV’s The Me You Can’t See.
“It’s incredibly triggering to potentially lose another woman in my life, but the list is growing. And it all comes back to the same people, the same business model, the same industry. My father used to say to me, when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, ‘Well, it was like that for me. So it’s going to be like that for you.’ That doesn’t make sense — just because you suffered, it doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer,” Harry added. He and Meghan stepped back from their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020.
During her speech last night, Meghan talked about how the media frenzy that’s encompassed her life made her realize a “greater” purpose.
“The narrative on repeat that surrounded me allowed me to recognize that part of my greater value and purpose in life was to advocate for those who felt unheard, to stand up to injustice, and to be not afraid of saying what you know is true, and what is just, and what is right,” Meghan said.
It’s been a scary week for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. On Monday, a man was arrested at their home in Montecito, Calif. for stalking.