Omid Scobie Calls Out King Charles and Prince William for Not Contacting Prince Harry After New York City Car Chase

(Image credit: Getty)

published 22 May 2023

As Marie Claire reported recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apparently haven’t heard a word from the royal family about their frightening car chase in New York City last week—and longtime Sussex reporter Omid Scobie is speaking out about it. The Independent reports that Scobie is criticizing King Charles and Prince William in particular for “failing to contact Prince Harry” after the chase, which happened over the course of two hours last Tuesday.

Scobie told BBC Newsnight that the response from the royal family to the incident has been “disappointing” for Harry and Meghan, who make their home in Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

“It’s impossible not to think of Princess Diana when we hear about car accidents and this kind of aggressive paparazzi chase,” Scobie said. Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was killed along with two others on August 31, 1997 in Paris after being relentlessly pursued by paparazzi.

Scobie continued “So I was really surprised to hear…that not one member of the royal family, including King Charles and Prince William—who obviously [were] heavily affected by Princess Diana’s death—has reached out to Prince Harry, hours after the news had broken.”

King Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry

At the time of her death, William was 15, and Harry 12, nearly 13. After 15 years of marriage, Charles had been divorced from Diana for just 368 days prior to her death, although their marriage deteriorated years before, resulting in the couple’s separation in 1992.

Harry, Meghan, and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland were in New York City to see Meghan accept an award on behalf of the Ms. Foundation on Tuesday night. The couple were followed by photographers after leaving the award ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom before police intervened and led them to a police station just under a mile and a half from the ballroom. After staying at the police station for 15 minutes, the three left in a taxi once the situation de-escalated, The Independent reports.

A statement from the Sussexes said, “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two [police] officers.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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