Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to receive additional security for future NYC visits following ‘near catastrophic’ paparazzi car chase
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will receive additional security for future visits to New York City following their so-called “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase through Manhattan in May 2023.
According to an NYPD letter entered in a UK court case by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, cops determined paparazzi acted in a “reckless” manner when pursuing the royals in Sept. 2023.
The letter claims that arrests could be made as a result of the dangerous car chase, but sources told The Post on Thursday that there is not sufficient evidence to charge anyone.
While the Sussexes have not filed any charges over the ordeal, they will now receive a heightened level of security during their future trips to the Big Apple.
The NYPD said it will be “enhancing the security resources afforded to the Duke and Duchess on future visits to the city,” the NYPD intelligence chief wrote to London’s Metropolitan Police.
“We found the following: reckless disregard of vehicle and traffic laws and persistently dangerous and unacceptable behavior on the part of the paparazzi during the night in question.”
“Our conclusion, upon review with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, is that we have sufficient evidence to arrest two individuals for reckless endangerment,” the letter adds.
In May 2023, Harry, 39, and Markle, 42, found themselves at the center of a high-speed car chase after leaving the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown with Markle’s mother around 9:50 p.m.
The trio were tailed by paparazzi who were unable to get any shots of the famous couple as they left the venue.
Soon after, a representative for the pair claimed they “were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.”
Law enforcement sources described a much less dramatic ordeal, saying the chase only lasted about one hour as the family switched to a yellow cab to try to get the paps off their trail.
A private security car and an NYPD vehicle accompanied the trio’s vehicle as a “significant” press presence followed, sources said at the time.
No 911 calls or collision reports were made related to the case, the NYPD said.
Earlier this week, London’s High Court, as part of its decision to deny the Prince state-funded security, cited the NYPD’s formal letter that said wild paparazzi had been “reckless” and “persistently dangerous” in their pursuit of the Sussexes through Manhattan.
And while the 52-page ruling, published Wednesday, found “reckless,” “unacceptable” behavior by paparazzi — Harry and Megan’s security contributed to the conditions by not adhering to an NYPD proposed stop, police sources said.
This week the Sussexes sensationally lost their bid for taxpayer-funded UK security protection, meaning they will now have to pay out of pocket for their security when visiting Harry’s home soil.
It’s since been revealed that Harry demanded to know the name of the person responsible for downgrading his UK police protection when he and Markle were stripped of their security in February 2020.
