Paparazzi Say Harry and Meghan’s Alleged Car Chase Was Manufactured and Overhyped
Photographers have spoken after the alleged car chase involving Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mother last week in New York City.
The incident a Harry spokesperson called a “near catastrophic car chase” Tuesday night was manufactured or overhyped, according to nearly a dozen photogs who spoke to the New York Times. A photographer who works with Backgrid—the photo agency that has refused to give the couple images taken during that night—told the newspaper that “there is nothing for the public or the police to actually be concerned about.”
Freelance photographer Roger Wong pointed out that, earlier that same day, a lawyer representing Harry challenged a decision by a London court to deny him the right to pay for police protection during his visits to the U.K. Wong told The Times that the timing of the car incident was convenient.
An inquiry from Robb Report to the couple’s foundation Archewell was not returned. However, a representative for the couple told the Times: “Respectfully, considering the duke’s family history, one would have to think nothing of the couple or anybody associated with them to believe this was any sort of P.R. stunt. Quite frankly, I think that’s abhorrent.”
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To that point, the incident immediately drew parallels to the death of Harry’s mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car accident on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36. Jurors later determined in an inquest into the deaths of Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed that the pair died due to the reckless driving of their chauffeur, Henri Paul, and the paparazzi who sped after them, The Guardian reported.
But Steve Sands, a photographer who spent his career taking photos of celebrities, pointed out to The Times that coverage often neglects to mention that Paul was a “drunk driver.” Backing his assertion, investigators later said that Paul, 41, had well over the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, according to The BBC.
The NYPD previously told Robb Report that there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in the recent alleged chase. The department told The Times that the incident needs “no further investigation.”
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