Prince Harry, Meghan, and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, were reportedly involved in a tense car chase on Tuesday night, as stated by a spokesperson for the couple.

According to the New York police, they faced a challenging situation while returning home from an awards ceremony due to numerous photographers.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an awards ceremony in New York City, organized by the Ms. Foundation for Women. Meghan, aged 41, was honored with the 2023 Women of Vision Award for her global advocacy and empowerment of women and girls. The event took place at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan, starting at 7:00 PM local time. After approximately three hours, the trio was seen leaving the venue and entering a black SUV around 10:00 PM.

According to the Sussexes’ spokesperson, they were pursued by a group of highly aggressive paparazzi for over two hours. This relentless pursuit resulted in multiple near collisions involving other vehicles, pedestrians, and even two NYPD officers. Allegedly, the photographers involved broke several traffic laws, such as running red lights, driving on the sidewalk, using phones while driving, taking photos while driving, and illegally obstructing a moving vehicle. Despite the presence of the police, the pursuit continued.

According to BBC, Harry and Meghan, who usually reside in California, were staying at a friend’s house in the city and opted not to return there directly to protect their security.

Law enforcement sources revealed that the couple’s vehicle circled the venue for about an hour, attempting to lose the paparazzi, but this proved unsuccessful. They then headed to the New York Police Department’s 19th precinct station, where they changed vehicles in another effort to evade the photographers. Their security guard eventually hailed a taxi driven by Sukhcharn ‘Sonny’ Singh.

Singh stated that after driving for a short distance, his taxi was blocked by a garbage truck, and the paparazzi quickly appeared and began taking pictures. He was then requested to drive the couple back to the police station. Singh noted that Harry and Meghan seemed nervous during the incident, but the paparazzi did not act aggressively. When asked about the spokesperson’s account of the chase, he believed it was exaggerated.

Entertainment picture agency Backgrid stated that it was investigating the actions of four freelance photographers allegedly involved in taking pictures of the Sussexes that night. However, the agency disputed some aspects of the couple’s statement, claiming that according to the photographers present, there were no near collisions or crashes, and they did not believe the couple was in immediate danger at any point.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the New York police confirmed their assistance to the couple’s private security team during their challenging journey home. They clarified that no collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests were reported regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s arrival at their destination.