Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Apparently Haven’t Heard a Word from the Royal Family Following New York City Car Chase

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in New York City

(Image credit: Getty)

published 20 May 2023

Just two weeks ago today, Prince Harry was in the U.K., attending the Coronation ceremony of his father, King Charles. While relations seemingly remain icy between Harry and some members of the royal family (here’s looking at the Prince and Princess of Wales), anyone who watched coverage of the Coronation could see that Harry was clearly getting on with many members of his family. Even so, according to multiple outlets, Harry and wife Meghan Markle haven’t heard from the royal family since news broke of their “near catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi earlier this week in New York City.

People reports that “the royal family has not reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since the incident occurred on Tuesday night.” (Adding fuel to this fire, the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary was yesterday, so there apparently has been no acknowledgement of that, either.) The Telegraph reports that Harry and Meghan are “frustrated” by “the lack of personal contact” from his family, with the outlet reporting “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 incident occurred after Meghan was honored at the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards in Manhattan Tuesday night; she brought Harry and mother Doria Ragland along as special guests. The chase, according to a Sussex spokesperson, lasted two hours and, according to a source speaking to People, left the couple “shaken”: “It was a disturbing situation, and they were shaken, but they are glad everyone’s okay,” the source says.

The Independent reports of the chase that it “is understood that the couple believes the pursuit could have been fatal, as it involved six blacked-out vehicles with unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them.” Traffic violations issued from the evening included driving on the pavement and through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, illegally blocking a moving vehicle, and driving while photographing and on the phone, the outlet reports.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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