The response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's statement regarding their recent "near catastrophic" paparazzi car chase in New York City could signal a problem for their reputational image in the United States, according to a discussion on a new episode of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast.
Following a public appearance at the Women of Vision awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Theatre in Midtown Manhattan on May 16, the royal couple together with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, were closely pursued by paparazzi photographers over two hours through the city.
The day after the event took place, a spokesperson for the couple said that they had been 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," they continued.
"While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety," they said.
Damning parallels could be drawn between the experience described in the statement and those of Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997 from injuries sustained in a car crash while engaged in a high speed paparazzi chase through the city of Paris.
Following the Sussexes statement however, a number of sources contradicted this version of events, including the NYPD and the driver of a taxi used in part of their journey. A number of U.S. outlets also ran coverage of the event with a level of enquiring skepticism.
The fallout from the chase announcement could signal a certain reluctance in the U.S. to now take the couple's claims at face value, which would be a reputational problem for the pair, suggested Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, in conversation with royal commentator Kristen Meinzer.
"It would have been a horrific experience for him, unquestionably," Royston said of Harry. "But also I was looking on the day at the people who were kind of punching holes in the narrative, and it was like the Washington Post interviewed the taxi driver. You know, the NYPD, the mayor of New York…Like it doesn't look good."
"It's one thing when it's the Daily Mail or the Sun because they have this whole narrative about how the British media is very negative about them," he suggested. "But the reputational implications of having these other very American sources of skepticism towards them, I fear, could be very profoundly significant for them. It could have quite wide-reaching, wide-ranging implications for their reputation in America."
In a statement after the chase, the NYPD said that numerous photographers following the royal couple made their journey through Midtown "challenging," but added that: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave his thoughts on the chase in a press conference, offering that while he found it "hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase," even one lasting ten-minutes could have been "extremely dangerous."
"It's clear that the press, the paparazzi, they want to get the right shot," he said. "But public safety must always be at the forefront."
Though the statements made by officials were not as emotively worded as that of the spokesperson for Harry and Meghan, Meinzer highlighted that they did not deny the incident took place.
She told Royston on The Royal Report: "I see exactly what you mean and I think that what we should keep in mind though, is even though those people—the NYPD, the mayor, the taxi driver—gave more measured statements, they did not deny that they were being pursued. They did not deny that Harry and Meghan were being followed."
In the U.S. Harry and Meghan saw their popularity dramatically decrease following the release of their six-part Netflix show detailing their exit from the royal family in December 2022, taking a further hit in January 2023 with the publication of Harry's memoir Spare.
Polling conducted for Newsweek on May 17 showed that at the time the statement about the car chase was made, Meghan was beginning to see her popularity regain lost ground among the American public, being recorded in positive numbers for the first time since December.
It is yet to be seen whether the fallout from the statement will have a positive or negative affect on this, though as the Sussexes move forward with their careers outside the structure of the British monarchy, their public perception and reputations will be increasingly important in securing future opportunities to generate income.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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