NEW YORK (WJW/AP) – The mayor of New York has some questions about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claims that they were chased by paparazzi Tuesday night.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement Wednesday morning about “highly aggressive paparazzi” and a “near catastrophic car chase.”
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and [Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland,] were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
In this image from video, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan exit Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ballroom on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 in New York. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed by vehicles after leaving a charity event on Tuesday. It said in a statement Wednesday that the pursuit “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” The incident instantly drew comparisons to the 1997 fatal car crash of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana. (AP Photo) 
FILE – Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, centre, accompanied by Britain’s Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and her mother Doria Ragland walk to attend a reception at Kensington Palace, in London, Sept. 20, 2018. A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan said Wednesday, May 17, 2023 the couple were involved in a car chase while being followed by photographers. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP, file) 
FILE – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at United Nations headquarters, Monday, July 18, 2022. A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan says the couple were involved in a car chase while being followed by photographers. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed for more than two hours by a half-dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event in New York on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) 
FILE – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, April 17, 2022. A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan says the couple were involved in a car chase while being followed by photographers. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed for more than two hours by a half-dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event in New York on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) 
FILE – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the track and field event at the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, April 17, 2022. A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan says the couple were involved in a car chase while being followed by photographers. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed for more than two hours by a half-dozen vehicles after leaving a charity event in New York on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) 
FILE – Meghan Markle, and her husband Prince Harry arrive to the observatory in One World Trade in New York, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. After months of speculation about whether they would be invited to the coronation, the palace announced that Harry would attend but Meghan would remain in California with their two children. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.”
In a statement of its own, the NYPD told PEOPLE that officers had helped escort the couple but that no collisions or arrests took place. Harry and Meghan spent 15 minutes at the NYPD’s 19th Precinct before getting into a taxi which brought them safely to a destination on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
At an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would be briefed later in the afternoon, but when questioned about the reported two-hour duration of the chase, said, “I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase.”
Adams said any car chase in New York City would be dangerous and “irresponsible.”
The cab driver, Sukhcharn Singh, told The Associated Press that he instantly recognized his passengers when they scooted in. “They were following us the whole time,” he said of the paparazzi, though he said he wouldn’t call it a chase.
No pictures or video of the incident have surfaced.
Meghan was honored with the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award Tuesday night at a fundraiser.
