Prince Harry and Princess Diana.Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
Prince Harryis thinking ofPrincess Dianaafter being involved in what his spokesperson called a “near catastrophic car chase” with photographers in New York City.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, told friends the experience was the “closest I have ever felt” to understanding what happened on the tragic night his mother died,The Timesreported on Thursday. The late Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash in 1997 that also involved photographers pursuing her vehicle when Harry was 12 years old.
In his memoirSpare,Prince Harryrecounted driving through the same tunnelwhere Princess Diana’s car accident occurred a decade later in an attempt to find closure. Grieving the tragic loss of his mother at a young age was a key theme throughout the book, released in January.
Host Ranvir Singh asked if it was the combination of no seatbelts, paparazzi chasing the car and the driver being intoxicated.
“When you look at most incidents, accidents, you find there’s a chain of events, and if any one of those chain of events had been different, it might not have led to that happening,” Douglas said. “For example, if they’d been wearing seatbelts, our experts tell us it was probably an 80% chance that they would have survived the accident.”
Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.Kevin Mazur/Getty
“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”
“The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” the statement said. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
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On howPrince Harryand Meghan are feeling now, a source tells PEOPLE that they were"shaken" after the incident.
“It was a disturbing situation, and they were shaken, but they are glad everyone’s okay,” the source said.
According to the source, after photographers capturedPrince Harryand Meghan leaving the event, they picked up the pursuit in an apparent attempt to find out where they were staying.
source: people.com
