One of the dumbest storylines of the past year was “the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were lying about being chased by the paparazzi in New York.” Last May, Meghan, Prince Harry and Doria Ragland attended the Ms. Foundation gala, where Meghan was being honored. They posed for official photos on the gala red carpet, and Harry and Meghan also left the event through one of the main exits, giving the swarm of paparazzi some good “street” shots. The Sussexes got into their security SUV and then all hell broke loose, as paparazzi chased the Sussexes’ convoy for two hours. NYPD officers were already part of the convoy, and at one point, the swarm/chase was so bad, the Sussexes had to go inside a police precinct and gather themselves. In the wake of the chase, the British media claimed that it was all make-believe, it was all an attention-seeking fantasy cooked up by the Sussexes. Meanwhile, CNN and other outlets were being briefed by the Sussexes’ private security people – some of whom are former Secret Service – that the incident really was a very bad situation. Well, guess what? The NYPD officially backed up the Sussexes’ story:

Prince Harry finds himself Wednesday in the unenviable position of having lost his war on the British government over his security arrangements, with a judge rejecting his demand for automatic police protection while in the U.K. He has, however won a battle, and some consolation may yet be found by the Sussexes after their much-mocked claim that they had been involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase through the streets of New York City last year, was vindicated in the judgment.

… Now, however, it has emerged in the judgement that the NYPD found that the chase in May really did happen, and has concluded that the behavior of the paparazzi chasing Harry and Meghan was not just “reckless” but also “persistently dangerous.” In what is likely to be a sweet vindication for Harry and Meghan, a senior officer at the NYPD has said the city not only holds enough evidence to arrest two people for reckless endangerment, but has also upgraded its security protocol for visits by Prince Harry and Meghan following the incident last May.

In a letter to the Metropolitan Police in London dated Dec. 6 2023, the NYPD’s Chief of Intelligence discussed “certain changes to the security posture that will be afforded to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” following a “thorough review” of the incident.

The intelligence chief wrote: “We found the following: reckless disregard of vehicle and traffic laws and persistently dangerous and unacceptable behavior on the part of the paparazzi during the night in question. 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 intelligence briefing was published Wednesday in the judgement in the lawsuit Prince Harry was bringing against the British Government over his security provisions in the U.K. While the NYPD has yet to actually arrest anyone in connection with the incident, there has been an immediate upgrade in the security extended to Prince Harry and Meghan when they visit New York in the future, according to the officer.

The letter was addressed to the Chief Superintendent and Commander of the Royalty and Speciality Protection, and was produced in court by Harry’s lawyer.

[From The Daily Beast]

Yeah – you could tell from the fact that everyone involved (including the paparazzi) shut the hell up that something serious went down that night. It really was just the British media insisting that no, it wasn’t serious, of course Harry and Meghan are lying! I always thought that one of the reasons why everything got so hush-hush was that not all of those people were paparazzi. It was an unsafe situation because there were people chasing them with a specific intent to do harm. You could also tell that the NYPD was taking it seriously because when the Sussexes visited New York last October, the Sussexes practically had a presidential convoy of NYPD security as they moved around the city. The British media was really mad about that too, almost as if they’ve been desperately trying to inflict harm on the Sussexes for years.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.