Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Rep Says Any Accusations of Their NYC Car Chase Being a PR Stunt Are “Abhorrent”

The couple insist their recollection of the incident “was absolutely not exaggerated.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
(Image credit: Getty)
Rachel Burchfield
By Rachel Burchfield
published

After news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two-hour car chase in New York City came out last week, the couple was met with trademarked skepticism that seems to dog whatever they do. According to Us Weekly, the Sussexes are “shocked” at the public’s response, especially claims that it was a PR stunt or overblown by the pair. “They insist their account of the car chase was absolutely not exaggerated, and for people to say otherwise is so hurtful and out of line,” a source says.

Harry and Meghan alleged that they were followed by “a ring of highly aggressive” paparazzi in New York City after leaving the 2023 Women of Vision Awards the night of May 16, where Meghan was honored. Her mother, Doria Ragland, was also with the couple at the time.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

(Image credit: Getty)

“As far as staying out of sight and being scared to show their faces, that’s not going to happen,” the insider says. “[This has] just strengthened their resolve to keep standing up for themselves and speaking out when they feel wronged.”

Their spokesperson Ashley Hansen told The New York 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 PR stunt,” she said, referencing Harry’s mother Princess Diana’s death in a paparazzi-fueled car accident in 1997 in Paris. “Quite frankly, I think that’s abhorrent.” 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

(Image credit: Getty)

To add insult to injury, just a week after the car chase, a London judge denied Harry’s request to hire his own police protection while in the U.K., over a year after he launched the legal fight in September 2021.

Rachel Burchfield
Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

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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