News/Commentary

We don’t cave to the Crown! American lawyer evokes Founding Fathers to smack down Prince Harry’s ‘royal’ demand

May 19, 2023 | | Print Article

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have demanded they be given pictures taken by a photo agency that took snaps of what they called a “near catastrophic car chase,” causing an attorney for the firm to inform Prince Harry that this is America, not Britain, and he’s not a king here.

Backgrid wasn’t having any of the royal couple’s demands after taking pictures of the incident in New York on Tuesday night. They told Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that Americans “long ago rejected royal prerogative.”

The demand was made via a letter that the couple’s attorney sent to the firm on Thursday.

It reportedly said, “We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.”

(Video Credit: Backgrid)

Backgrid has its own attorneys and fired a letter back informing the couple, “In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do. Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our Founding Fathers.”

The highspeed pursuit allegedly occurred following the couple’s attendance at the Ms. Foundation For Women’s 50th-anniversary gala event, according to the Daily Mail. It was their first appearance together at a public event since the Duchess of Sussex missed the coronation of King Charles III.

Backgrid said it “had no intention of causing any distress or harm” after deploying four photographers, three cars, and a bike to capture footage of Harry and Meghan after they left the award ceremony, according to Deadline.

According to a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the pair along with Markle’s mother Doria Ragland “were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.” Many highly doubt that assertion.

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers,” the couple’s attorney added.

The paparazzi involved in the incident deny that there were any near-crashes. The NYPD stated that “numerous photographers” made the couple’s journey “challenging” but there were “no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests.”

Photos of the incident have evidently been removed from UK websites, according to TalkTV.

Prince Harry is currently petitioning the High Court in Britain to secure a judicial review over a decision that he should not be allowed to pay privately for his protective security. The couple asserts that the incident in New York is proof that they should be allowed to pay for private police protection.

A friend of the couple told i News, “This is a clear demonstration that Harry and Meghan are in a different category to other celebrity couples and command far greater attention. For them to be banned by the British Government from paying for expert police protection is just a ludicrous situation and one Harry is clearly confident of overturning in court.”

A senior Home Office source told the media outlet that the British government is confident that the New York incident will not affect its case.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday that King Charles III has not been in touch with Harry since the incident.

Rumor has it that the couple is miffed after Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the incident and because the royal family is not reaching out to them over it.

The Mirror reported that at the G7 summit in Japan, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared to coldly dismiss the New York incident, “Cars in New York are not really my priority or my responsibility. What is my priority and responsibility is people’s safety at home.”

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