A close pal of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has hinted that the royal couple will now have to make a big life decision following their near-car crash in New York City earlier this week.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were relentlessly followed by paparazzi after they attended the Women of Vision awards ceremony along with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland on Tuesday evening, the Mirror reports.
Royal writer Carolyn Durand, who co-wrote Finding Freedom with Omid Scobie said that Harry and Meghan are "chased all the time" and added that after his mother's tragic death, Harry's priority is to protect his family.
The author claimed that the couple need to find the right balance between whether they want privacy and how to cope with photographers chasing after them.
She told Sky News: "The Duke and Duchess want to create a compromise where they can live a quieter life in California, but still highlight the issues that are important to both of them. And I think that that's laudable, certainly.
"They'll have to make a determination about what the balance is: if they really want that life of privacy and how you balance that with people chasing you on the streets of New York or LA or London."
The Editor's Code of Conduct in the UK forbids the use of paparazzi pictures that are taken during any kind of pursuit, meaning that no such incident as the one that was claimed to have happened in New York on Tuesday could happen in the UK.
After Princess Diana's death in Paris in 1997, news organisations in the UK stopped publishing photographs that were not commissioned and changed the editors' code of practice to prevent the publication of paparazzi photos involving any kind of pursuit.
Instead, the royal family often provide their own official photographs of the royal children and other figures and regularly reminders to editors via the press watchdog, of their family's right to privacy.
It is understood that no members of the royal family had reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as of 10pm on Wednesday and a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman declined to comment.
The Duke of Sussex's ex bodyguard told Good Morning Britain that it should have been ensured that security were "properly stage managed".
Ken Wharfe told the show on Thursday: "The protection team he has got at the moment has never dealt with such a high-profile celebrity as Harry and Meghan."
He added: "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."
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan released a statement on Wednesday which said: "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.
"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.
"Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved."
A taxi driver who claims to have transported the trio for part of their journey told The Washington Post that his vehicle was followed by a black Honda Accord and a grey Honda CR-V.
However, drive Sukhcharn Singh told the BBC that he did not feel in "danger" at any point and that claims about the paparazzi chasing them may have been exaggerated as they were not "aggressive".
Mr Singh, who is known as Sonny, told The Washington Post: "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."
The New York Police Department deployed officers to help escort the Duke and Duchess to safety. The force said that "numerous photographers" had "made their transport difficult" on Tuesday evening.
The statement said there were "no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests".
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