Princess Diana’s Ex-Bodyguard Calls Harry & Meghan’s NYC Car Chase A ‘Nuisance,’ Not ‘Near Catastrophic’

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Image Credit: SplashNews

“The paparazzi, astatine best, tin beryllium talked to, but astatine worst they’re a nuisance,” said Ken Wharfe, a erstwhile bodyguard for Princess Diana, erstwhile discussing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s recent “relentless pursuit” by “highly aggressive” photographers. Ken appeared connected ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, a time aft quality broke of however photographers chased Harry, 38, Meghan, 41, and her mother, Doria Ragland, done Manhattan. Ken, who oversaw Diana’s 24/7 extortion from 1987-1993, said the paparazzi is “not retired to origin the decease of immoderate 1 person. So, I deliberation we person to beryllium a small spot cautious there,” per the New York Post.

(Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

Wharfe suggested that Harry’s information squad whitethorn person been excessively inexperienced to grip the situation. “The extortion squad helium has got astatine the infinitesimal has ne'er dealt with specified a high-profile personage arsenic Harry and Meghan. To them, I person immoderate sympathy,” said Wharfe. “The full constituent is you person to instrumentality proposal connected this, and I don’t cognize to what grade the New York Police Department were involved, but basically, it’s thing that needs to beryllium decently stage-managed.”

A rep for Prince Harry issued a connection connected Wednesday (May 17) astir the alleged pursuit that took spot aft Meghan was honored astatine the  Women of Vision Awards, held astatine New York City’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. Last night, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were progressive successful a adjacent catastrophic car pursuit astatine the hands of a ringing of highly assertive paparazzi,” reads the statement.

(SplashNews)

“This relentless pursuit, lasting implicit 2 hours, resulted successful aggregate adjacent collisions involving different drivers connected the road, pedestrians, and 2 NYPD officers,” the connection continued. Harry and Meghan acknowledged that “being a nationalist fig comes with a level of involvement from the public, it should ne'er travel astatine the outgo of anyone’s safety. Dissemination of these images, fixed the ways successful which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive signifier that is unsafe to each successful involved.”

The NYPD confirmed that they “assisted the backstage information squad protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were galore photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived astatine their destination, and determination were nary reported collisions, summonses, injuries, oregon arrests successful regard.”

Harry’s ordeal echoed the incidental that resulted successful Princess Diana’s decease successful 1997. Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were killed successful Paris portion being pursued by paparazzi. Their driver, Henri Paul, mislaid power of their Mercedes-Benz W140, colliding with a Pont de l’Alma passageway partition earlier striking a enactment column. Paul and Fayed died instantly, portion Diana succumbed to her wounds astatine a infirmary soon afterward. The clang was attributed to Paul driving astatine precocious speeds portion being nether the power of medicine drugs and alcohol.

Ken Wharfe has written a fig of books astir his clip arsenic a royal extortion officer, and he’s been vocal astir Harry successful the past. In August 2022, helium wrote astir Harry successful a tribute marking the 25th day of Princess Diana’s death. “Harry talks passionately astir the media arsenic acold arsenic his parent is concerned, and that is understandable, particularly successful the mode helium relates it each to Meghan,” wrote Wharfe, per Newsweek.

“He is alternatively overprotective of Diana successful that respect, arsenic helium indispensable present cognize that, successful the second portion of her beingness successful particular, she did liaise and negociate with definite sections of the media,” added Wharfe. “I deliberation his privation to talk publically is deeper. It is the mode Diana and Meghan person been dealt with by members of the Royal Family, the deficiency of enactment his woman received, successful the aforesaid mode arsenic Diana was ne'er fixed support oregon enactment for what she did.”

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