Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not heard from any members of the Royal Family after they were aggressively pursued by paparazzi in New York City, according to PEOPLE. Harry, 38, is currently estranged from his family, and even though he was just in England for his dad King Charles III‘s coronation, his loved ones apparently still have not reached out to Harry and Meghan, 41, since the car chase incident happened. Harry and his wife are “frustrated” by this, according to The Telegraph. “The lack of personal contact, as well as Buckingham Palace’s refusal to publicly acknowledge or comment on the incident, is understood to have frustrated the couple, who friends suggested may have hoped to garner more support, particularly on a personal level,” the outlet reported.
On May 17, a rep for Harry issued a statement about the alleged chase that took place after Meghan was honored at the Women of Vision Awards, held at New York City’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. The rep claimed that Harry, Meghan, and Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, “were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi. This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers.” Harry’s spokesperson told CNN that the pursuit could have caused severe damage.
The alleged car chase invoked memories of Harry’s mother Princess Diana‘s 1997 death. Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Faye, were being pursued by paparazzi in Paris, and their driver, Henri Paul, lost control of their Mercedes-Benz W140, colliding with a Pont de l’Alma tunnel wall before striking a support column. Dodi and Henri died instantly, while Diana succumbed to her wounds at a hospital shortly afterward. The crash was attributed to Paul driving at high speeds while being under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol.
Harry compared his car chase incident to Diana’s fatal accident, according to The Times. The publication reported on May 18 that the Duke of Sussex told his friends the car chase was the “closest I have ever felt” to understanding what happened the night his mother was killed. PEOPLE reported that Harry and Meghan are “shaken” after the car chase. “It was a disturbing situation, and they were shaken, but they are glad everyone’s okay,” a source shared.
Diana’s former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, addressed Meghan and Harry’s car chase incident on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Ken said the paparazzi is “not out to cause the death of any one person. So, I think we have to be a little bit careful there.” He also suggested that Harry’s security team may have been too inexperienced to handle the situation. “The protection team he has got at the moment has never dealt with such a high-profile celebrity as Harry and Meghan. To them, I have some sympathy,” Ken said.