Prince Harry warned concerning the threats of the media to his household for years earlier than his 'near-catastrophic' automotive chase

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been adopted by paparazzi in NYC in a “near-catastrophic chase.”
• The incident was eerily much like the crash that killed Princess Diana in 1997.
• Harry has repeatedly stated he fears that Meghan will meet the identical destiny his mom did.

On Tuesday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle grinned as they walked a pink carpet in New York Metropolis for the Girls of Imaginative and prescient awards ceremony, the load of King Charles’ coronation off their shoulders. 

Hours later, catastrophe virtually struck.

In accordance with a statement from the couple’s representative offered to royal reporter Omid Scobie, paparazzi adopted Harry, Meghan, and her mom Doria Ragland for 2 hours in a “near-catastrophic automotive chase.” 

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in a number of close to collisions involving different drivers on the highway, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers,” the spokesperson went on to say. 

The NYPD confirmed the incident in an announcement offered to Insider, saying police “assisted the personal safety crew defending the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” on Tuesday night time.

“There have been quite a few photographers that made their transport difficult,” Julian Phillips, the deputy commissioner for public data on the NYPD, stated in his assertion. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their vacation spot and there have been no reported collisions, summonses, accidents, or arrests in regard.”

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t instantly reply to Insider’s request for remark.

Scobie additionally stated in a follow-up tweet that paparazzi ignored uniformed cops a number of instances to proceed to pursue Harry, Meghan, and Ragland, bucking site visitors legal guidelines within the course of. 

“Site visitors violations by the drivers embrace driving on a sidewalk, going by pink lights, reversing down a a technique avenue, driving whereas photographing and illegally blocking a transferring automobile,” Scobie stated, including {that a} supply near the Sussexes stated they’re “understandably shaken however grateful everybody’s protected.”

The expertise would possible shake anybody up, however for Harry, it should have been significantly grueling. Not solely did he lose his mom in an eerily related scenario, however he has been attempting for years to guard his household from the paparazzi. 

Prince Harry has warned for years that he feared Meghan would meet the identical destiny as his mom

Harry has pointed to similarities between the best way Meghan has been handled by the tabloids to Princess Diana’s expertise on a number of events, saying he feared his spouse’s security could be jeopardized as his mom’s was. 

Diana was killed in a automotive crash in Paris in 1997 after being pursued by paparazzi. 

In 2019, Harry condemned the press’ therapy of Meghan in an announcement, saying: “I’ve seen what occurs when somebody I really like is commoditized to the purpose that they’re not handled or seen as an actual particular person. I misplaced my mom and now I watch my spouse falling sufferer to the identical highly effective forces.”

He repeated the sentiment throughout his interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, the place he stated his “greatest concern was historical past repeating itself.” 

He even went so far as to say he feared the British tabloids would not relaxation till Meghan was lifeless within the 2021 Apple TV+ docuseries “The Me You Cannot See.”

“My mom was chased to her loss of life whereas she was in a relationship with somebody who wasn’t white, and now look what’s occurred,” he stated, noting that Diana was courting Egyptian movie producer Dodi Fayed when she died. “You wish to discuss historical past repeating itself? They are not gonna cease till she dies.”

His household’s bodily security was additionally one of many prince’s greatest considerations after he and Meghan stepped again as senior royals provided that they not had entry to royal safety. In September 2021, Harry appealed for a judicial assessment of a authorities choice that barred him from personally paying for police safety whereas within the UK. The shortage of safety meant Harry and his household have been “unable to return to his dwelling,” a spokesperson for the prince stated on the time. 

The chase proved Harry’s fears had advantage, nevertheless it’s not the primary time he and Meghan have been in danger

Harry’s fears have typically been met with criticism, as some members of the general public have been skeptical that he and Meghan have been really at risk due to their royal lives. 

For example, they have been met with backlash when their Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” was launched in 2022, because it included pictures and movies of the paparazzi that gave the impression to be unrelated to the couple. The collection included pictures of the couple being adopted as nicely. 

Likewise, folks have criticized Harry and Meghan for releasing a Netflix collection and Harry’s memoir “Spare” after stepping again, claiming the couple wished privateness. However as BuzzFeed’s Ellie Corridor reported, the pair have solely ever advocated for wanting the media to be much less invasive towards them.

Regardless of these criticisms, Harry’s fears have proved true on a number of events. 

Outgoing Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu stated in a November 2022 interview with UK’s Channel 4 News that there have been a number of credible threats towards Meghan’s security when she was a working royal, which he described as “disgusting and really actual.”

Harry and Meghan additionally revealed of their Netflix docuseries that they needed to rent a driver who specialised in “evasive driving” when Meghan was nonetheless filming “Fits” in 2017 to cease tabloid reporters from following her. 

And on Thursday, Harry discovered himself in virtually the very same scenario as his mom was — trapped in a automotive with the particular person he beloved as somebody desperately tried to take his picture.