The Duke of Sussex’s security should have been “properly stage-managed”, a former royal bodyguard has said, after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a “near-catastrophic” car chase involving paparazzi.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed on Wednesday (17 May) that they were subjected to a “relentless pursuit” by photographers after an event in New York on Tuesday evening.
The royal couple, who were with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, said that “highly aggressive paparazzi” chased them for two hours that resulted “in multiple near collisions”.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday (18 May), Ken Wharfe, who was a bodyguard for Prince William and Harry before becoming the late Princess Diana’s personal protection officer in 1988, said: “The protection team he has got at the moment has never dealt with such a high-profile celebrity as Harry and Meghan.
"To them, I have some sympathy. The whole point is you have to take advice on this, and I don’t know to what extent the New York Police Department were involved, but basically, it’s something that needs to be properly stage-managed.”
Wharfe stopped working for Diana in 1993 but continued with the Royal Protection Squad until his retirement in 2002. Wharfe oversaw the security of Diana’s funeral and has authored several books about his time working for the royal family, including Guarding Diana and Diana: Closely Guarded Secret.
"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.”
Harry, Meghan and Meghan’s mother had been leaving the Women of Vision awards gala in New York, where the duchess was honoured for her life-long advocacy for women and girls, when the incident occurred.
It was the couple’s first public appearance together since the duchess’s absence at the King’s coronation earlier this month.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the royal couple said on Wednesday: “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 in involved.”
New York Police Department, which deployed officers to help escort the duke and duchess, said “numerous photographers” had “made their transport difficult” on Tuesday evening.
The statement said there were “no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests”.
A taxi driver who drove the three through New York City has said the description of the car chase as “near catastrophic” was “exaggerated”.
Meanwhile, speaking on Wednesday, New York Mayor Eric Adams condemned the photographers for being “reckless and irresponsible”.
The event prompted many comparisons to Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a high-speed chase in 1997 after trying to flee paparazzi through a tunnel in Paris.
The 38-year-old royal and father of two has long spoken out against aggressive press intrusion. The duke wrote extensively about Diana’s death in his best-selling memoir, Spare, and has shared several of his fears about “history repeating itself” in the case of his wife Meghan.
Buckingham Palace told The Independent that it would not be commenting on the incident.
