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New York (AFP) \u2013 Prince Harry<\/strong><\/a> and his wife Meghan Markle<\/strong><\/a> were involved in a \u201cnear catastrophic car chase\u201d involving paparazzi in New York, a spokesperson for the couple said Wednesday.<\/p>\n The pair were uninjured in the incident Tuesday night, which came almost 26 years after the Paris car crash that killed Harry\u2019s mother, Princess Diana, which Harry blames on paparazzi.<\/p>\n The New York chase occurred after Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, attended an awards ceremony in America\u2019s financial capital with Meghan\u2019s mother Doria Ragland.<\/p>\n \u201cLast 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,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement emailed to AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cThis relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n A source close to the couple said Meghan and Harry were pursued by half a dozen blacked out vehicles with \u201cunidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe chase could have been fatal,\u201d the source added, claiming a number of possible traffic violations including driving on the sidewalk, running red lights\u00a0and reversing down a one-way street, were committed.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said \u201cnumerous photographers\u201d had made the couple\u2019s journey \u201cchallenging.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,\u201d deputy commissioner Julian Phillips told AFP.<\/p>\n Harry has long had a difficult relationship with the media.<\/p>\n He blames press intrusion for causing the death of his mother in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris in 1997 while she was being pursued by paparazzi.<\/p>\n In a US television interview earlier this year he recalled seeing the final photos of her and realizing that the last thing she saw before she died was photographers taking her picture.<\/p>\n Harry and Meghan, an American former TV actress, sensationally quit royal family duties in early 2020 and moved from Britain to the United States, in part because of intense media scrutiny.<\/p>\n The younger son of King Charles III has been involved in several legal cases against British newspaper publishers since moving to California.<\/p>\n Last week the publisher of the tabloid The Mirror, which Harry accuses of unlawful information gathering, apologized \u201cunreservedly\u201d and said the prince was entitled to \u201cappropriate compensation.\u201d It did not provide further details.<\/p>\n Harry is also pursuing claims against the publisher of The Sun and the publisher of the Daily Mail.\u00a0Those cases will be decided later this year.<\/p>\n Harry and Meghan had attended the Ms. Foundation for Women ceremony in New York where Meghan received an award and were staying at a private residence.<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s spokesperson added that \u201cwhile being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/p>\n