Prince William’s friend mocks Harry’s ‘hysterical’ reaction to paparazzi chase
One of Prince William’s friends mocked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for claiming to be in a “near-catastrophic” car chase with paparazzi in New York City.
“William and [Kate Middleton] have put up with s–t like this in the past,” the anonymous pal told the Daily Beast Friday.
“Everyone understands [Harry’s] anger at the photographers, but making hysterical statements doesn’t help matters, especially when, as the Queen might have said, recollections may vary.”
The Prince of Wales’ close confidant also dragged the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for attending the Women of Vision Awards prior to Tuesday’s incident considering they quit their royal duties in 2020 to avoid the spotlight.
“I thought they were leaving the royal family for a quieter life,” the friend said. “If flashbulbs give Harry flashbacks, I don’t understand why he is going to award ceremonies.”
An unnamed friend of King Charles III agreed that Harry and Markle’s reaction to the shutterbug showdown was over-the-top.
“Charles will completely understand Harry being upset at being pursued by the paparazzi,” the monarch’s pal told the website. “He knows how scary it can be. But he has always tried to get Harry to understand that complaining about photographers or the media is pointless. It just makes it all worse.”
Page Six confirmed Wednesday that Harry’s estranged father and brother had not reached out to him and Markle about the chase — nor had any other members of the royal family.
We exclusively reported earlier Wednesday that the prince, 38, the “Suits” alum, 41, and her mom, Doria Ragland, were “extremely upset and shaken” after allegedly attempting to flee from photographers for two hours the night before.
One insider told us that a cameraman hit a car while another almost ran over a police officer during the “near-fatal” escapade.
“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,” a rep for the Sussexes said in a statement to Page Six at the time.
“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.”
Our insider added that the trio were “still upset,” calling the incident “horrific.”
But after Harry and Markle spoke out via their rep, the account of the chase started to fall apart as witnesses pieced the evening together.
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A photo agency said Thursday that its freelance photographers had not put the couple in harm’s way.
“According to the photographers present, there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident,” Backgrid USA told Page Six. “The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.”
The New York City Police Department also released a statement Wednesday, saying Harry and Markle had “arrived at their destination” without any “reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests.”
The police spokesperson added that its officers “assisted” the royals’ private security team to get them safely to their final destination.”
Law enforcement sources, meanwhile, told NBC News that Harry, Markle and Ragland, 66, were brought to the 19th Precinct, where they remained for 15 minutes before being put into a yellow cab and safely escorted by police to their Upper East Side destination without being trailed.
A high-ranking police officer also shut down the former royals’ claims, telling The Post that the chase “definitely wasn’t two hours.”
Harry and Markle are reportedly demanding that Backgrid fork over footage of the evening to prove their side of the story.
William, 40, and Charles, 74, have notably been estranged from Harry since the redheaded royal and his wife decided to repeatedly drag the monarchy in many interviews and his controversial “Spare” memoir.
However, Harry did attend Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation sans Markle earlier this month. He then rushed back home to California to be with his wife and their kids — Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 1 — to celebrate their son’s birthday.
