The incident could have turned “fatal,” according to their security guard.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were nearly involved in a “catastrophic” car accident on Tuesday night, according to the couple’s spokesperson. The events unfolded after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an event in New York City, and apparently involved their motorcade trying to escape numerous paparazzi vehicles for two-plus hours. Fortunately, they were able to get safely back to the residence where they were staying for the night.
According to one of the security guards for the Sussexes, the situation could have been “fatal.”
The situation is chillingly similar to the events that caused Prince Harry’s mother’s fatal car crash in 1997. (For those who are interested, The Washington Post assembled a detailed timeline of the events surrounding Princess Diana’s death.)
Here’s what we know about Harry and Meghan’s reported almost-accident, including what the mayor of New York City had to say about it, and whether anyone will be held responsible.
What we know about Harry and Meghan’s close-call car accident
According to their spokesperson, Harry and Meghan’s almost-accident took place in New York City on Tuesday. The Sussexes were in the city to attend the Women of Vision Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom.
Following the ceremony, they left in a convoy that included Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland. This convoy was then followed by a “swarm” of paparazzi, according to a local law enforcement source who spoke to CNN.
The Sussexes’ convoy was allegedly followed by a large group of cars, scooters, and bicycles, which led to multiple traffic violations.
According to the spokesperson for the pair, “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”
One member of Harry and Meghan’s security team has also spoken out about the incident.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this,” Chris Sanchez said, via CNN. “What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles…The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal.”
The Mayor of New York City condemns Harry and Meghan’s close encounter with catastrophe
Again, it’s virtually impossible to read about this latest incident and not think of Princess Diana, who died after a car crash involving a paparazzi chase in 1997. And it seems that this unsettling parallel was on the mind of New York City Mayor Eric Adams when he spoke about the incident during an unrelated briefing.
“You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere, but this is a densely populated city, and… I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how [Harry’s] mom died,” Adams said to reporters, when asked about the event. “It’s clear that the paparazzi want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront.”
Interestingly, Adams seemed openly skeptical about certain details released by the Sussexes’ team. “I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase,” he said. “We have a lot of traffic, a lot of movement, a lot of people are using our streets.” He did go on to acknowledge that even a “10-minute” chase would be “extremely dangerous” in Manhattan.
The New York Police Department has since released its own statement about the events
“On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the statement reads. “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.”
There’s no indication that the department plans to pursue charges for any individuals involved in the alleged chase.
What Prince Harry has said about his mother’s death
In recent years, Harry has become increasingly vocal about his belief that Diana’s fatal car crash wouldn’t have taken place if it weren’t for the paparazzi.
In a 60 Minutes interview earlier this year, Harry said he was told as a boy that the series of events leading up to his mother’s death had been like a “bicycle chain.”
“If you remove one of those chains, the end result would not have happened,” he said. “And the paparazzi chasing [my mother] was part of that. But yet everybody got away with it.”
During that same interview, Harry revealed that he demanded, at one point, to see the pictures taken of Diana after the car crash took place.
“[I wanted] proof that she was in the car,” Harry explained. “Proof that she was injured. And proof that the very paparazzi that chased her into the tunnel were the ones that were taking photographs — photographs of her lying half dead on the back seat of the car.”
Harry has also recently spoken explicitly about his fear of history repeating itself when it comes to his wife’s safety.
“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,” Harry said, in his 2021 Apple+ TV series The Me You Can’t See. “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 she dies.”
