Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave the Women of Vision Awards in New York City on May 16. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave the Women of Vision Awards in New York City on May 16. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are demanding the footage taken by photographers following the couple’s “near-catastrophic car chase”.
According to TMZ, Harry and Meghan - who were involved in a “near-catastrophic car chase” in New York on Tuesday - are requesting the pictures in order to better their own security, Page Six reports.
“We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours,” the royals’ lawyers said in a letter to the photo agency.
However, Backgrid’s lawyers clapped back with their own testy letter, “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.
“Perhaps you should 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. We stand by our founding fathers.”
The photo agency denied allegations that the couple was pursued by “highly aggressive paparazzi”, adding that its hired photographers that night had no intention of “causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras”.
“It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” the agency added, before noting that it values “transparency and ethics” in journalism, including “providing fair and factual responses to claims”.
The company said that despite their denial of the claims, they will investigate the incident.
A source told People that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Doria Ragland, were rattled after the incident.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave the awards ceremony in New York City. Photo / Getty
“It was a disturbing situation, and they were shaken, but they are glad everyone’s okay,” the insider said.
The trio had attended the 2023 Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards, where Meghan was honoured, before they were allegedly followed by more than 10 photographers back to their place of residence.
After not being able to lose the paparazzi, the couple, Ragland and their security guards jumped into a yellow taxi cab in order to escape.
A source claimed one of the photographers collided with a car and a paparazzo almost ran over a police officer during the “near-fatal” car chase, according to Page Six.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” a spokesperson for the Sussexes told Page Six.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near-collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers. While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
The New York Police Department released a statement on Wednesday confirming that the police had helped Harry and Meghan’s security team.
Doria Ragland, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards. Photo / Getty Images
“The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” the statement said. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
