Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Doria Ragland and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Doria Ragland and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Photo / Getty Images
The King has not been in touch with the Duke of Sussex in the wake of his “near catastrophic car chase” in New York, the Telegraph understands, despite the Duke’s hopes that the experience might have prompted his father to contact him.
The Duke and Duchess have not heard from any senior members of the British royal family since revealing that they were involved in what they claimed was a “relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours” that could have been fatal.
The lack of personal contact, as well as Buckingham Palace’s refusal to publicly acknowledge or comment on the incident, is understood to have frustrated the couple, who friends suggested may have hoped to garner more support, particularly on a personal level.
The Duke and Duchess released an emotive statement about the incident, which took place after an awards ceremony on Tuesday night (NY time), describing it as a dramatic chase that caused “multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers”.
The couple, who were with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, 66, left the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan’s Midtown about 10.30pm and eventually arrived back at their friend’s house at 1.30am - after seeking refuge in a police station on multiple occasions.
The couple’s team were so shaken that they stayed up all night, monitoring news sites to see which images were published and by whom.
Duke and Duchess have not heard from any senior members of the royal family. Photo / Getty Images
But the account they released on Wednesday did not land quite as they had expected, with New York authorities and other witnesses raising questions about their version of events, particularly the alleged level of intensity.
New York Police Department sources told United States breakfast show Good Morning America that officers’ interactions with the couple ended within just 20 minutes.
One paparazzi driver alleged to have been involved in the incident said it was “very tense” trying to keep up with the Sussexes’ vehicle, blaming the person driving the Duke and Duchess for creating potential danger.
“They did a lot of blocking and there was a lot of different types of manoeuvres to stop what was happening,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“Their driver was making it a catastrophic experience … if they were going 80mph [129km/h], I would probably have been going 20mph behind them and hoping to keep sight of them.
“So if it was dangerous and catastrophic, it was more than likely based on the person that was driving.”
Ken Wharfe, who worked as Diana, Princess of Wales’ protection officer for six years, said the couple’s private protection team should have “properly stage-managed” their departure from the award ceremony.
He said he had “some sympathy” for the security team but added: “The whole point is you have to take advice on this, and I don’t know to what extent the New York Police Department were involved, but basically it’s something that needs to be properly stage-managed.
“I will make the point here from my own experience … the paparazzi, at best, can be talked to, but at worst they’re a nuisance.
“But they’re not out to cause the death of any one person. So, I think we have to be a little bit careful there.”
Celebrity news agency Backgrid USA said it was investigating allegations that the Sussexes’ safety was threatened.
The Duke and Duchess released an emotive statement about the incident. Photo / Getty Images
‘Their only tool was their cameras’
It said it had received photos and videos of the incident from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle.
“They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras,” the agency said in a statement.
“A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab.”
It added that “the photographers report that one of the four SUVs from Prince Harry’s security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless”, before going on to insist there were no near-collisions or near-crashes.
“The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, Sonny Singh, 37, the taxi driver who briefly picked up the Sussexes and Ragland as they attempted to create a decoy, revealed that the plan was foiled when a rubbish truck pulled in front of them, blocking their departure and giving the photographers enough time to converge around the vehicle.
New York City cab driver Sukhcharn Singh briefly picked up the Sussexes and Doria Ragland. Photo / AP
Instead of going to their ultimate destination, they simply drove around the neighbourhood and ran up a US$17.80 ($28) fare before the Duke and Duchess got out of the cab back at the police station and back into their car, he said.
They paid the fare and left a US$50 ($80) tip, Singh added.
He told CNN he did not feel under threat by the encounter with photographers but said Harry and Meghan looked “nervous and scared”.
Tom Buda, president of Buda Security Inc - the company responsible for the Sussexes’ transportation - said the “chase was frightening” and had put both the couple and Ragland “in danger”.
He told NBC News he “felt bad they were shaken up” and Ragland was particularly affected.
The security chief acknowledged that it “was not a high-speed pursuit,” but insisted the photographers were being “reckless”.
Buda said the couple were eventually able to shake off the paparazzi during the midnight changeover of patrol officers at the police precinct where they had taken refuge, which effectively caused a traffic choke point, allowing their security team to spirit them away.
Photography agency Backgrid has refused orders from the Sussexes’ lawyers to “immediately” hand over all footage and pictures taken during Tuesday night’s alleged car chase, according to TMZ.
The Sussexes’ legal team reportedly wrote to the press agency, saying: “We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies” of everything taken by their four freelance photographers after the couple left the awards ceremony.
In a pithy response, Backgrid’s lawyers said: “In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do.”
They suggested the lawyers “sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago”.
