Prince Harry and Meghan ask photo agency to provide 'near-death' car chase footage

However, Backgrid's lawyers have countered the couple's request in a cryptic letter. "In the United States, as I'm sure you know, photos and videos are the property of their owners. Third parties cannot demand that they be provided. The privilege of requiring citizens to hand over their assets to the Royal Family has long been denied to this country. We stand by the founders of our country," the letter stated.

Backgrind not only refused to hand over the footage, but they also previously rejected the British Royal Family's claims.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan, New York

“According to the photographers present, there were no near-misses during this incident,” a Backgrid USA Inc. representative told Page Six on May 17. “The photographers reported that they felt the couple was not in any danger at any time.”

The photo agency also denied that the couple were pursued by "extremely aggressive paparazzi", saying the hired photographers had no intention of "causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was a camera".

“It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and people, including public figures like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” Backgrid added, before noting that they value “transparency and ethics” in journalism, including “providing fair and factual responses to complaints.”

However, Backgrid said it will continue to look into the matter.

Prince Harry, 38, Meghan Markle, 41, and Meghan's mother Doria Ragland were left "deeply upset and shaken" after being chased for two hours in an "almost catastrophic" incident.

After the Suits actress accepted an award at the 2023 Women of Vision Awards , the trio got into an SUV around 10 p.m. on May 16. They said they were immediately followed by more than 10 photographers.

Prince Harry and his wife after attending the awards ceremony

When they failed to escape the paparazzi, the couple, along with Ms Ragland and their security guard, jumped into a yellow taxi in an attempt to escape.

A source confirmed to the press that one photographer drove into a car and another nearly ran over a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer during the "near-death" chase.

"Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a 'disastrous' car chase led by an extremely aggressive group of paparazzi. The chase lasted over two hours, resulting in multiple near-collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers. While being a public figure comes with a level of public interest, that should never come at the expense of anyone's safety," the family added to Page Six .

However, following their allegations, some witnesses claimed that the Royal couple exaggerated the incident.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived safely and there were no reported collisions, injuries or arrests in connection with the incident," the New York City Police Department said in a statement on May 17. The NYPD added that it had "assisted" the royal family's private security team in keeping them safe.

A senior police source told the New York Post that no emergency call was made to report the chase and the NYPD had only one vehicle to survey the situation.

"The chase certainly did not last two hours," police added.

Mayor Eric Adams later confirmed that, according to a briefing he received, two NYPD officers "may have been injured."

"I don't think many of us don't remember how Harry's mother, Princess Diana, died. It would be terrible to lose innocent bystanders in a chase like this and have it happen again," said Eric Adams, referring to the late Princess of Wales who died in a 1997 car crash in Paris involving paparazzi.

Despite the uncanny similarities to Diana's cause of death, members of the British royal family have not questioned Harry and Markle since the incident.

A source confirmed to Page Six that King Charles III, Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, have not been in contact with Prince Harry's family.

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