Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's cab driver speaks out after chase by paparazzi: "They looked nervous"
NEW YORK - The taxi driver who had Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in his back seat while they were being hounded by paparazzi is speaking out, describing the situation Harry and Meghan said was "near-catastrophic."
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, said they were involved in a scary car chase in New York City.
The situation reminded many people of Princess Diana's death in 1997 when she was killed while being chased by paparazzi in Paris.
It all happened Tuesday night after Harry and Meghan were leaving an event at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, where Meghan was being honored with an award.
The pair was leaving the Midtown location and trying to get back to the Upper East Side, when they were later seen hopping into a taxi further up the East Side.
At one point during the evening, as Harry and Meghan tried to flee the paparazzi, they switched from their car to a taxi cab. That happened near East 67th and Park Avenue.
"I was crossing 67th Street and the security guard hailed me. And the next thing you know Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab," driver Sunny Singh said. "And as we went a block, we got blocked by a garbage truck, and all of a sudden, paparazzis came, and they started taking pictures. And then... they were just about to tell me their location, where they were going to go, but then they told me to circle back to the precinct. So we circled back to the precinct."
Singh said they seemed nervous.
"Nice people. They looked nervous. I think they were being chased the whole day or something. They were pretty nervous. But the security guard, he was on it," Singh said. "You pick up celebrities all the time, so I didn't think much of it when they got in either."
Sources tell CBS New York the paparazzi started following Harry and Meghan after they left the Ziegfeld Ballroom on West 54th Street, where Meghan had just been honored at an awards ceremony.
"And then, as they were leaving, just the way they chased the car, it just reminds you of like all the other scenes you've seen in the past with Prince Harry's mother. And it was just really upsetting," witness Zara Sayeed said.
Harry and Meghan have long been outspoken about aggressive paparazzi, and Harry has said he believes overzealous paparazzi caused the tragic accident that killed his mother.
"He said to Oprah, 'If I stayed in the Royal Family, I felt that history would repeat itself,' and we know what history he was talking about here. He was talking that he thought his wife and his children would be in danger," royal expert Kate Williams said.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan described a "relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulting in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers."
"The briefing I received, two of our officers could've been injured," Mayor Eric Adams said. "I would find it hard to believe that there was a two hour high speed chase. That would be - I'd find it hard to believe, but we will find out the exact duration."
Adams went on to say even a 10 minute would be dangerous.
The statement from the couple's spokesperson also said people were driving on sidewalks and running red lights.
"Oh, I don't think that's true. I think that's all you know, exaggerated and stuff like that. So don't read too much into that, you know," Singh said. "No, that must have happened earlier, if they were being chased before on like 57th like Mayor Adams was saying, but not with me."
Singh was asked if felt like the paparazzi were being aggressive when Harry and Meghan were in his cab.
"No, no, no, no. They were behind us. I mean, they stayed on top of us that was pretty much to it. There was nothing more. You know, they kept their distance. They're just journalists just like everybody else trying to get pictures, trying to make a quick buck," Singh said.
And were they good tippers?
"Yeah, it was great man. Ten minute drive, $50. What else can you ask for, right? You can't beat that," he said.
The NYPD released a statement saying there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging, and the couple arrived at their destination and there were no reported injuries, crashes and no arrests.