While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claim that the they were involved in a ‘catastrophic’ car chase by ‘highly aggressive paparazzi,’ it seems that it was their own error in judgement that led to the incident on Tuesday, May 16th, 2023.
However, new reports suggest that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a decision to walk out in front of the photographers much to the dismay of their security.
According to Page Six, the couple’s security was being led by a former member of Barack Obama’s Secret Service detail known as “the king of the back exits” for his ability to quietly get celebrities out of high-profile situations.
However, Prince Harry and Meghan, who were accompanied by Chris Sanchez, a renowned ex-Secret Serviceman, decided to do things differently as they left the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Tuesday night.
A source close to the Sussexes told the outlet the couple decided to walk out the back of the ballroom around 10 p.m. because they wanted to give waiting photographers a shot of them.
“Harry and Meghan were willing to give everyone those shots when they left the event, that was not the problem, but they were tailed from that point on,” the source told the outlet.
Their rep, Ashley Hansen, told the New York Times on Friday that the images captured were “some of the most beautiful images of the evening.”
The couple, however, did not stop to pose. Photographs show an initially smiling Harry leading his wife by the hand, with his expression then turning to a scowl. Finally, a large group of security blocked photographers trying to photograph them getting into their waiting SUV.