As Marie Claire reported recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apparently haven’t heard a word from the royal family about their frightening car chase in New York City last week—and longtime Sussex reporter Omid Scobie is speaking out about it. The Independent reports that Scobie is criticizing King Charles and Prince William in particular for “failing to contact Prince Harry” after the chase, which happened over the course of two hours last Tuesday.
Scobie told BBC Newsnight that the response from the royal family to the incident has been “disappointing” for Harry and Meghan, who make their home in Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“It’s impossible not to think of Princess Diana when we hear about car accidents and this kind of aggressive paparazzi chase,” Scobie said. Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was killed along with two others on August 31, 1997 in Paris after being relentlessly pursued by paparazzi.
Scobie continued “So I was really surprised to hear…that not one member of the royal family, including King Charles and Prince William—who obviously [were] heavily affected by Princess Diana’s death—has reached out to Prince Harry, hours after the news had broken.”
At the time of her death, William was 15, and Harry 12, nearly 13. After 15 years of marriage, Charles had been divorced from Diana for just 368 days prior to her death, although their marriage deteriorated years before, resulting in the couple’s separation in 1992.
Harry, Meghan, and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland were in New York City to see Meghan accept an award on behalf of the Ms. Foundation on Tuesday night. The couple were followed by photographers after leaving the award ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom before police intervened and led them to a police station just under a mile and a half from the ballroom. After staying at the police station for 15 minutes, the three left in a taxi once the situation de-escalated, The Independent reports.
A statement from the Sussexes said, “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two [police] officers.”
