Harry and Meghan: What we know so far about the New York paparazzi incident

Conflicting accounts of an incidental which Prince Harry and his woman Meghan's spokesperson described arsenic a "near catastrophic car chase" person emerged since it was made nationalist connected Wednesday.

New York constabulary said "numerous photographers" had made the couple's travel connected Tuesday evening "challenging" but added determination had been "no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, oregon arrests".

And a taxi operator who concisely drove them suggested their spokesperson's relationship was "exaggerated", portion immoderate photographers progressive person denied parts of it.

Here is everything we cognize truthful acold astir the incident.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been attending an awards ceremonial hosted by the Ms. Foundation for Women astatine the Ziegfeld Ballroom successful Manhattan.

Meghan, 41, was among the 2023 Women of Vision Award honourees, for what the instauration described arsenic "her planetary advocacy to empower and advocator connected behalf of women and girls".

The mates and Meghan's parent Doria Ragland were seen leaving and getting into a achromatic SUV astatine astir 22:00 (03:00 BST).

According to the Sussexes' spokesperson, "a ringing of highly assertive paparazzi" followed them for "over 2 hours". They said the "relentless pursuit" resulted successful "multiple adjacent collisions involving different drivers connected the road, pedestrians and 2 NYPD officers".

It was alleged that those progressive successful the pursuit broke aggregate roadworthy rules - including moving a reddish light, driving connected the pavement, driving portion connected the phone, driving portion photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle.

It was besides claimed that the beingness of constabulary did not halt the pursuit.

The BBC understands that Harry and Meghan, who are usually based successful California, were staying astatine a friend's location portion successful the city, but did not privation to compromise their information by returning determination directly.

Law enforcement sources told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, their conveyance circled the venue for astir an hr successful an unsuccessful effort to shingle disconnected the paparazzi.

They past went to the New York constabulary department's 19th precinct constabulary station, wherever they switched vehicles successful different effort to get away, CBS says.

The Sussexes' information defender flagged down a taxi, driven by Sukhcharn "Sonny" Singh.

He told BBC News helium had driven a artifact erstwhile his taxi "got blocked by a garbage motortruck and each of abrupt paparazzi came and started taking pictures". He was past asked to thrust them backmost to the constabulary station.

Despite the incidental taking spot successful the centre of Manhattan, astir nary footage of it has emerged. However, video of the brushwood with photographers described by the taxi operator was released connected societal media.

In the one-minute of footage the stationary taxi tin beryllium seen extracurricular the Park Avenue Armory successful East 67th Street with constabulary cars with flashing lights successful beforehand and down it.

The camera tries to look successful done the rear windows of the taxi earlier a antheral gets retired of the beforehand rider side, walks astir the conveyance and gets backmost in. At slightest 2 radical with cameras tin beryllium seen astir the car and tons of flashes are seen successful the footage.

The taxi past pulls distant followed by 2 constabulary cars with flashing lights and drives down the thoroughfare towards Central Park with the idiosyncratic filming appearing to tally down on the pavement. The taxi tin beryllium seen turning near into Park Avenue, though the 2 constabulary cars crook close astatine the junction.

Mr Singh said the brace "looked nervous" astir what was happening, but the paparazzi were not being aggressive. Asked astir the spokesperson's statement of the chase, helium said it was "exaggerated".

Entertainment representation bureau Backgrid said it was investigating the behaviour of 4 freelance photographers it said were progressive successful taking images of the Sussexes connected Tuesday night.

However, the bureau said the photographers disputed immoderate aspects of the Sussexes' statement.

The bureau said: "We recognize that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's information item had a occupation to do, and we respect their work.

"We do, however, privation to constituent retired that according to the photographers present, determination were nary near-collisions oregon near-crashes during this incident. The photographers person reported feeling that the mates was not successful contiguous information astatine immoderate point."

One paparazzi operator who told ITV's Good Morning Britain helium had been progressive successful the incidental said the photographers had been hoping the mates would spell for a repast aft the grant ceremony.

"For the astir part, I was driving and it was precise tense trying to support up with the vehicles," helium said.

"They did a batch of blocking and determination was a batch of antithetic benignant of manoeuvres to halt what was happening."

The paparazzi driver, who was not named, told the programme: "Their operator was making it a catastrophic experience... If they were going 80mph, I would astir apt person been going 20mph down them and hoping to support show of them.

"So if it was unsafe and catastrophic, it was much than apt based connected the idiosyncratic that was driving."

In a connection connected Wednesday, New York constabulary confirmed it had assisted the couple's backstage information squad during their "challenging" instrumentality home.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived astatine their destination and determination were nary reported collisions, summonses, injuries, oregon arrests successful regard," it said.