The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made demands that the photo agency which was allegedly involved in the 'near-catastrophic' car chase hand over footage of the alleged event.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - who were in New York City the night of the alleged chase - have demanded the photo agency hand over the footage snapped by photographers. The embattled royals claim the footage will help improve their security.
“We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours,” their lawyers said in a letter to the agency, reports Page Six.
However, Backgrid’s lawyers shot back with a letter of their own, they wrote: “In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it; Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do."
“Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our founding fathers.”
Not only did Backgrind refuse to hand over the California-based royals the footage, but they previously denied the royals claims. “According to the photographers present, there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident,” Backgrid USA told Page Six in a statement on Wednesday. “The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.”
The agency denied the claims that the couple was chased by “highly aggressive paparazzi,” claiming its hired photographers had no intention of “causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras.”
“It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” the agency added, before writing that it values “transparency and ethics” in journalism, including “providing fair and factual responses to claims.”
Despite this, the company said they will continue to investigate the incident. A source claimed to us that one photographer hit a car and another almost ran over an NYPD officer during the “near-fatal” chase.
“Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” a rep for the Sussexes added in a statement.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted 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 interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
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