Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Allegedly Contributed To NYC Paparazzi Chase; No Charges Will Be Filed: Report

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle suffered from the "reckless" and "unacceptable" behavior of the paparazzi during a car chase in New York City last May, but they reportedly had some contribution to the incident.

The Duke of Sussex presented a letter from the New York Police Department (NYPD) to the U.K. court in his bid to receive police security in his home country. The NYPD's chief of intelligence confirmed in the letter after their investigation that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Markle's mom, Doria Ragland, had suffered from the "reckless" behavior of the paparazzi even if they arrived at their destination without "reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests."

However, even if the paparazzi behaved recklessly, the Sussexes were reportedly partly to blame. Anonymous police insiders spoke with the New York Post about the incident and claimed that the royal couple didn't heed NYPD's call to stop at a certain location.

"[The Sussexes's] reluctance to go to the planned stop, with paparazzi, was a contributing factor. Harry has been insistent someone be arrested -- that requires evidence which we don't have at this time," one source said, referencing how the NYPD and royals discussed things during that incident about a planned destination where cops could control the traffic flow.

The police insiders spoke about the incident after Prince Harry's letter from the NYPD chief was released. The letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police of London on Dec. 6, 2023, as part of Prince Harry's documents in his demand to receive the tax-funded police protection after he was stripped of it following his decision to step back from his royal duties in 2020.

The NYPD chief said in the letter that they had sufficient evidence to arrest two individuals. However, they have not arrested anyone.

"The individuals operated vehicles, scooters and bicycles in a manner that forced the security team, which included an NYPD Lead Car, to take evasive actions on several occasions and a circuitous route to avoid being struck by pursuing vehicles or trapped on side blocks. Our conclusion, upon review with the Manhattan District Attorney's office, is that we have sufficient evidence to arrest two individuals for reckless endangerment," the letter read, per Daily Beast.

A subsequent letter was reportedly entered into the filing, which sources claimed was sent in error by law enforcement officials to the Sussexes' security detail, creating confusion by suggesting two suspects could face an arrest from the incident, per the New York Post. The unnamed NYPD sources claimed that an arrest was unlikely to happen. They noted that both the force and Manhattan DA thoroughly examined the case, but charges were unlikely to be filed.

The incident happened when the Sussexes were in Midtown Manhattan. They attended the Women of Vision Awards, where the Duchess of Sussex was among the honorees. Prince Harry and Markle's rep characterized the incident as a "near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi," with the pursuit reportedly lasting more than two hours.

Mayor Eric Adams condemned the incident. According to him, it was "reckless and irresponsible." However, he also cast doubt on the story, saying, "I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase," Forbes reported.

In related news, Prince Harry lost his legal battle over his security in the United Kingdom after the court threw out his case to receive taxpayer-funded 24-hour protection. Ken Wharfe, a personal protection officer to Princess Diana, urged the royal to give up the fight and accept the court's decision because "he was never going to win."