The paparazzi photo agency emphasizes that no one was in danger.
Harry also filmed the situation with his own mobile phone. PDO
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, attended the Ms Foundation’s of Vision Gala in New York on Tuesday. Meghan was awarded at the event for her work for the advancement of women.
Naturally, Meghan also gave an award speech, where she, among other things, urged women to be “visionaries of their own lives”.
After the event, however, there was an incident that has crossed the news threshold worldwide even more than the Ms Foundation’s of Vision event itself.
Meghan and Harry are said to have been chased by aggressive paparazzi on the way back.
– The relentless chase that lasted more than two hours led to several near-miss situations involving bystanders, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) employees, the couple’s representative said in a statement.
– The chase could have had fatal consequences, he continued.
Doria Ragland, Meghan and Harry in the backseat of a taxi. PDO
Different views
However, there are differing views on the dramatic nature of the situation.
The duke couple’s taxi driver interviewed by the Washington Post stated:
– I wouldn’t call it a chase. I never felt in danger. It wasn’t a chase like in the movies. They were quiet and looked scared, but this is New York – it’s safe here, the taxi driver described the situation to the newspaper.
The taxi driver said he picked Harry, Meghan and Doria up from the police station at 11 p.m. He recalled two vehicles driving behind the taxi. The pursuers tried to take pictures of the Duke and Duchess.
However, the security guard was concerned about the situation and asked the taxi driver to take the group back to the police station.
The NYPD representatives who participated in the situation have also commented on what happened. They have used less colorful language than the representative of the duke couple. Instead of an aggressive chase, the police described the situation as “challenging”.
Investigation
Harry, Meghan and Doria did not leave the gala in a taxi but in a black car. Even then the paparazzi started to follow. The trio moved from the car to a yellow taxi in the middle of the journey. So the taxi driver has not witnessed the entire car journey.
The trip started with a black car. PDO
In the middle of the trip, the group switched to a taxi. PDO
As you know, the purpose of the trip, which took detours with two different cars, was to fool the followers. Harry and Meghan were staying at their friends’ private apartment in Manhattan, and they did not want to endanger the safety of their hosts in any way.
Photo agency Backgrid USA has announced that it will investigate the incident. Its cameramen took part in the chase.
However, the representative of the photo agency has also commented that the Duke and Duchess were safe the whole time, according to the photographers.
– We received pictures and videos from four freelance photographers. Three of them photographed from cars, one was on the move on a bicycle. They were doing their job, which includes photographing public figures.
– Photographers do not intentionally try to cause any kind of harm to their subjects. Moreover, in some of the pictures, you can see that Meghan smiled at the photographer from the taxi, the representative of the photo agency points out.
Everyone remembers how Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died as a result of a paparazzi chase after her car crashed into a tunnel wall in Paris in August 1997.
Harry has said on many occasions that he is afraid that his wife Meghan will experience the fate of her mother.
Source: CNN