You don't have to be a fan of the British royal family to know about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Princess Diana. In 1997, the "people's princess" died as a result of a high-speed car chase initiated by British paparazzi. Prince Harry was only 12 years old and Prince William 15 when the fatal crash happened.
More from MamásLatinas: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle—A timeline of their relationship
Fast-forward to 2023, and Prince Harry is a married father of two living in the U.S. after stepping back from his role as a senior member of the royal family. A scary (and nearly tragic) incident involving Harry and Meghan Markle unfolded in May. And it nearly had history repeating itself.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in an incident with paparazzi in May 2023.
On May 16, Harry and Meghan were reportedly chased by photographers after leaving the Women of Vision Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” a member of the Sussexes security team, Chris Sanchez, told CNN.
He continued, “The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine (carrying the couple) and started taking pictures until we were able to get out."
Harry and Meghan's press secretary said they were "incredibly scared and shaken up."
Harry and Meghan's press secretary Ashley Hansen spoke to Sky News of the reported car chase. "I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did last night. They were incredibly scared and shaken up," she told the publication. "There were several times where the car stopped, and security got out," she told me.
Hansen added, "There were instances where the police confronted the paparazzi and had asked them to stop or give them space, to do this safely. Unfortunately, that wish was not respected."
The cab driver involved in the incident has since spoken out.
Sukhcharn "Sunny" Singh drove the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during part of the paparazzi pursuit. In an interview with CBS News New York, Sunny described how the scene unfolded.
"I was crossing 67th Street and the security guard hailed me. And the next thing you know Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab," he told the outlet. "And as we went a block, we got blocked by a garbage truck, and all of a sudden, paparazzis came, and they started taking pictures. And then… they were just about to tell me their location, where they were going to go, but then they told me to circle back to the precinct. So we circled back to the precinct."
The cab driver said the description of the car chase was "exaggerated."
Singh described Meghan and Harry as "nice people" and noted that the couple "looked nervous" during the paparazzi pursuit. "I think they were being chased the whole day or something. They were pretty nervous," he told BBC News. "But the security guard, he was on it," Singh said. "You pick up celebrities all the time, so I didn't think much of it when they got in either."
The cab driver also shared his thoughts about how the car chase was described. "I think that's all you know, exaggerated and stuff like that," he told NBC News, per Sky News. "So don't read too much into that, you know."
The palace didn't reach out following Meghan and Harry's paparazzi incident—and have yet to comment.
Reportedly, no one from the palace has reached out to Harry and Meghan in the wake of the reported car chase. This includes King Charles III and Queen Camilla and Prince William and Kate Middleton, according to what a source told Page Six. Although Harry and Meghan were clearly shaken up by the paparazzi incident, hopefully they're both doing OK now—and hopefully photographers take things down a notch in the future.
