Paul Burrell has spoken out about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'near catastrophic' car chase with the paparazzi and claimed it was a "celebrity storm in a teacup".
The incident took place on Tuesday night as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an awards ceremony in New York City, alongside Meghan's mother Doria Ragland. A statement was released yesterday, stating the trio had been involved in a "near catastrophic" car chase with photographers.
New York Police Department said that, while photographers made the transport "challenging", there were "no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests". Paul, who is the former butler to Princess Diana, didn't hold back when he shared his views on the incident on today's Good Morning Britain.
Appearing on GMB on Thursday, Paul claimed the incident had been "hyped up" as he branded it a "celebrity storm in a teacup".
"I’m finding it difficult to compute all the different statements," he said. When asked by hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shepard if he had spoken to Harry recently, Paul said that, while he hadn't, he still "loved and cared" for Harry and William.
He added: "But Harry's gone off the rails and he's gone to a different country and doing a different project to his brother. I don't feel any animosity towards him, I wish him well, I wish him all the happiness in the world."
Paul continued: "I wish he wouldn’t keep making comparisons to what’s happened to him and Meghan to Diana, because this car chase through Manhattan wasn’t in any way, shape or form, linked to Diana’s death in Paris.
"Princess Diana was avoiding the press on the night she died. Meghan and Harry were actually courting the press."
Following the incident, the Duke's spokesperson said: "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.
"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. Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.
READ NEXT:
- Prince Harry's touching question to Meghan hours after birth of Lilibet
- Meghan Markle's comment about Trooping the Colour was met by 'yawning silence'
Meghan Markle's friend breaks silence after Netflix series with sweet wedding snap
Prince Harry addresses 'sadistic' rumour that James Hewitt is his real father
Meghan Markle's subtle social media hints before relationship with Prince Harry went public
