Journalist Omid Scobie has singled out King Charles III and the Prince of Wales after it appeared that “not one member” of the royal family reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their “near-catastrophic” car chase.
It comes after the couple claimed they were pursued “relentlessly” by paparazzi through New York City on Wednesday (17 May).
Scobie, who has authored biographies about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, told BBC Newsnight that the response from the royal family to the incident has been “disappointing” for the couple.
“It’s impossible not to think of Princess Diana when we hear about car accidents and this kind of aggressive paparazzi chase,” he told TV host Victoria Derbyshire during the programme.
“So I was really surprised to hear… that not one member of the royal family, including King Charles and Prince William – who obviously [were] heavily affected by Princess Diana’s death – has reached out to Prince Harry, hours after the news had broken.”
The royal expert’s comment comes after the PA news agency reported that no one from the royal family had contacted the Sussexes as of 10pm on Wednesday night.
Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said the couple were “chased” by paparazzi after they attended an awards ceremony with the duchess’s mother Doria Ragland on Tuesday night (16 May).
A statement by the spokesperson said: “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two [police] officers.”
The incident has been compared to the 1997 car chase through Paris that resulted in the tragic death of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The New York Police Department said the journey was “challenging” but “there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrest”. The police were assisting the Sussexes’ private security team.
According to reports, the couple were followed by photographers after leaving the award ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom for 75 minutes, before police intervened and led them to a police station 1.4 miles from the ballroom.
They stayed at the 19th precinct for 15 minutes before leaving in a taxi once the situation had de-escalated.
Taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh, who said he picked up the group, said the paparazzi “were following us the whole time” but added that he wouldn’t call it a chase. They drove around for some time before returning to the 19th precinct.
The Sussexes then got into a different car and left undisturbed. They returned to the apartment where they were staying.
Buckingham Palace told The Independent that it would not be commenting on the incident. Follow the latest updates here.
