The words “near catastrophic” flew around the internet as news broke about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry being pursued by paparazzi in New York City. A spokeswoman for the royal couple spoke about this car chase the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were involved in, calling the paparazzi “highly aggressive,” and the event a “relentless pursuit.” Now a cab driver who drove the couple for part of this event is explaining what he witnessed.
While a spokeswoman for the royal couple called the two-hour chase nearly “catastrophic,” the cab driver Sukhcharn Singh, who drove the couple for about ten minutes of the situation, said otherwise. He explained to the Washington Post that he would not define the drive as a “chase,” saying that he felt fine throughout the situation, he said:
I don’t think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York — it’s safe.
He did explain that as he drove the royal couple and Markle’s mother, they were being followed by two vehicles, noting that the cars were driving next to his cab and were filming and taking pictures when they stopped.
Singh continued to explain that he thought the group had already been followed by the paparazzi before getting in his car, and a few minutes into their ride he noted that the security guard with them was getting concerned. He said he was asked to take them back to where he picked them up, and the entire drive lasted about 10 minutes.
Markle and Pince Harry’s spokesperson explained the event saying there were “multiple near collisions” that could have involved other drivers on the road, people walking and two NYPD officers.
Along with the cab driver, Backgrid USA told Page Six that the photographers who were there said there were "no near-collisions or near-crashes," and that the couple "was not in immediate danger." The company is looking into the incident, and noted that they are taking the "allegations seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation."
NYPD spokesman Julian Phillips also released a statement detailing the situation, and why it was challenging, saying:
There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, also spoke about the incident, saying he’d been informed that police officers “could have been injured,” and the whole situation was “a bit reckless and irresponsible.” However, the report explained that the mayor seemed skeptical about the possibility of a two-hour chase in the city, though he did explain that “a 10-minute chase is extremely dangerous in New York City.”
This whole situation took place right after Meghan Markle accepted an award at the 2023 Women of Vision Awards. In her first appearance following King Charles’ coronation, her trip to NYC was met with criticism as some people thought it was “a slap in the face” to her father-in-law since she didn’t travel for his ceremony about a week and a half ago. While Markle didn’t attend the coronation Prince Harry did, however, he left London right after the ceremony. The reason for the Duchess of Sussex’s absence and the Duke of Sussex’s quick exit was that the coronation fell on their son Archie's birthday.
All of this news surrounding the royal couple and their public appearances comes on the heels of those with a Netflix subscription watching their docuseries Harry & Meghan, as well as Prince Harry, releasing his memoir Spare, which was full of allegations and revelations. In both cases, the couple talked about their relationship to the press, and how poorly they’ve been treated by them, especially the paparazzi.
In terms of this car chase, it appears Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were being aggressively followed by the paparazzi. However, in this cab driver's account, it sounds like, at least for the ten minutes he drove them, it was not as “near catastrophic” as it was made out to be at first.
