Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and her mother were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase after being followed by paparazzi, according to his spokesperson.

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers,” the spokesperson added.

“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 in involved.”

The chase happened after Harry and Meghan had attended an awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York on Tuesday – their first public appearance since the King’s coronation.

Pictures that have appeared on social media have shown Harry, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, in a taxi.

The Duchess of Sussex received a Woman of Vision award at the ceremony in New York as she encouraged women to fight for equality as she accepted the award at the Ms Foundation for Women’s annual gala.

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“It’s never too late to start,” she said at the event in New York. “You can be the visionary of your own life… There is still so much work to be done.”

Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal roles in 2020 and moved to the United States partly because of what they described as intense media harassment.

The prince has long spoken out about his anger about press intrusion which he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed when her limousine crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi in Paris in 1997.

The car chase comes after a man was reportedly arrested outside Harry and Meghan’s home for stalking in the early hours of Monday, according to TMZ.

A representative for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office told the celebrity news site they got a call from security staffers at the couple’s LA mansion at around 2am local time.

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