The picture agency that snapped photos of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during what the couple described as a "near catastrophic car chase" are refusing to hand over the images to the royal couple.
Backgrid, which is a California-based entertainment photo agency, has said they have rejected a legal demand from the Duke and Duchess to share the material taken on Tuesday night in New York, the Mirror reports.
The royals released a statement saying they were relentlessly chased along with Meghan's mum Doria Ragland after leaving the Women of Vision awards ceremony in Manhattan.
The agency told the BBC that they had responded to their legal requests by telling them: "In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do.
"Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our founding fathers."
The incident happened after the pair left the Ziegfeld Theatre in midtown Manhattan where the former actress, 41, was honoured at the Women of Vision Awards.
The Prince's spokesperson said in a statement that the paparazzi's "relentless pursuit" involved more than half a dozen vehicles and had lasted more than two hours.
They added that the incident has resulted in near fatal collisions with other drivers on the road, police officers and pedestrians.
The Sussexes are said to be "extremely upset and shaken" by the car chase but are "relieved" to be home safe. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, 66 was apparently particularly "terrified" by the ordeal.
The Mayor of New York Eric Adams slammed the press in a press conference on Wednesday night as he described their actions as "reckless and irresponsible".
Adams defended the couple, stating that public safety should be prioritised over the desire for getting the perfect photograph for the papers.
He added: “New York City is different from a small town somewhere. You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere but this is a densely populated city”.
The mayor also touched on Harry's mother, Princess Diana who died in a high-speed car chase in 1997 after trying to escape paparazzi in Paris.
Speaking of her tragic death, he said: "I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how Prince Harry's mom died and it would be horrific to lose innocent bystanders during a chase like this, and something to have happened to them as well, so I think we have to be extremely responsible.
"I thought that was a bit reckless and irresponsible."
After the trio were escorted into the back of a yellow cab at around 10pm, the vehicle was reportedly followed by around 12 paparazzi.
The New York Police Department said in a statement: "On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“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 in regard.”
Chris Sanchez, who is a member of Harry's security team, said that the pursuit left Harry and Meghan feeling “scared” and “exhausted”.
Sanchez said: “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.
“The public was 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.”
Sanchez added that he “was concerned about the principals (Prince Harry and Meghan) but more about the public because they (the paparazzi) were being so erratic.”
“People were on sidewalks and crossing streets, and the (paparazzi) were crossing red lights. We did everything by the letter of law.”
The taxi driver who claims to have driven the royals for part of their journey however has told the BBC that he did not feel in 'danger' during the situation.
Describing his ride with the royals, Sukhcharn Singh said: “They were quite nice. They asked me my name, and I only gave them my nickname ‘Sonny,’ since my real name is hard.”
The 37-year-old cabbie said he was driving around looking for a fare when a man in a suit flagged him down.
He recalled that within seconds, Harry, Meghan and Doria were in the back of his car with a member of the prince's security team sitting in the front seat.
Mr Singh said that the royals definitely seemed "nervous".
He added: "They were just about to tell me the location of where they wanted me to go but then all these paparazzi came out of nowhere, so they told me to drive.”
Singh, who has been driving a yellow cab since 2019, said he circled the block before pulling over and eventually dropped the royals back at the 19th Police Precinct.
He later received a phone call from New York City's Taxi and Limousine commissioner to applaud him for his efforts during the incident but Singh modestly brushed aside the attention.
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