The incident happened after Harry and Meghan attended an awards ceremony in the financial capital of the United States.
Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was with them in the vehicle, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to AFP.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Mrs. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a very aggressive group of paparazzi.”
“That relentless chase, which lasted more than two hours, led to several near misses with other drivers. on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the spokesperson added.
“While being a public figure carries a certain level of interest from the public, it should never be done at the expense of anyone’s safety,” he said.
The statement added: “The dissemination of these images, given the manner in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous for all involved.”
A spokesman for the New York Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, they had attended the ceremony of the Ms. Foundation for Womenin which Meghan received an award.
A source close to the couple said that Meghan and Harry were chased by half a dozen vehicles with “unidentified persons driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around it.”
The chase could have been fatal
“The chase could have been fatal,” the source added, stating that a number of possible traffic violations were committed, including driving on the sidewalk, running red lights and driving in reverse on a one-way street.
difficult relationship
Harry has long had a difficult relationship with the media.
He has long blamed press meddling for causing the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a 1997 Paris car crash while being chased by paparazzi.
In an interview on American television earlier this year, Harry recalled seeing the last photos of his mother and realizing that the last thing he saw when she died was photographers taking pictures of her.
The couple left the royal family in early 2020. and moved from the UK to the US, partly due to intense media scrutiny.
The youngest son of King Charles III has been involved in several legal cases against British newspaper publishers since he moved to California.