"They followed us all the time," taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh told The Associated Press news agency of the "almost catastrophic" paparazzi incident reported by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
The taxi driver told the AP that a security guard beckoned him to stop and when he pulled his car closer to the curb, Harry, Meghan and their mother got into the car. Singh acknowledged to his passengers who "had that look on their faces," without specifying what he meant. He said that, when they were about to reach their destination, a garbage truck cut them off and "suddenly some paparazzi came out and started taking pictures." While he said he wouldn't call it "persecution," he acknowledged that they followed them throughout the journey. The couple asked Singh to change course and return to the police station, where he had picked them up.
A spokesman for the couple said that on Tuesday night several photographers "chased" by car, for almost two hours and several blocks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after leaving an event they attended in New York.
[Prince Harry and Meghan Markle denounce 'near-catastrophic car chase' with 'paparazzi' in New York]
Police officers, who were assisting the Dukes' private security, drove them to a police station to exchange their vehicle for a taxi, the AP said. Once at the police station, they waited a few minutes for the situation to "calm down" and, when they thought they were no longer in danger, they boarded Singh's yellow taxi, confided an official who requested anonymity.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the awards ceremony, before the incident with the paparazzi. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images | Ms. Foundation for Women
In images published by the entertainment portal TMZ, the Duke and Duchess are seen in the taxi, several blocks from the place of the event they attended, stuck in traffic, while they were recorded and photographed through the windows of the vehicle, escorted by the New York police.
"They didn't say much," Singh said. "They just asked my name and then Harry thanked me and said have a nice day." They paid him $17 for the trip and left $50 tip. "It was pretty good," acknowledged the driver who explained that it was "more than enough" to go around the block.
"It shouldn't be at the expense of anyone's safety."
A spokesman for the couple denounced the incident, saying that at least half a dozen cars with photographers followed them for more than two hours in a "relentless chase," which almost resulted in "multiple collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers."
"While being a public figure carries a level of public interest, it shouldn't be at the expense of anyone's safety," he said. Although Harry has insisted that he does not want to repeat history and therefore renounced his titles with the Crown, the harassment of the paparazzi recalled the fatal incident in which his mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997 after being chased by photographers in a tunnel in Paris.
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The NYPD confirmed there were no injuries, collisions or arrests in the incident. The city's mayor, Eric Adams, called the actions of the paparazzi who followed the couple "reckless and irresponsible."
The Duke and Duchess had attended a ceremony at which Markle accepted the Women of Vision award, in a charity event that raised $100 million to boost initiatives by the Ms. Foundation for Women to defend equality and the collective power of women. It was the first public event they attended since the coronation of King Charles III, which Markle did not attend.
The couple have said they must afford their own security equipment after the Crown refused to offer it after they resigned from their posts in 2020 and former President Donald Trump said the U.S. government would not pay to protect them.
