After a nearly-fatal incident earlier this week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's legal team have demanded the footage captured by paparazzi during the "chase." Their legal team sent a letter to the photo agency involved, Backgrid, reading, "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." Backgrid claims they "had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras."
Backgrid refuses to hand over the footage. Their lawyer said, "In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it." They also say, Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do." Also adding, "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."
Photo Agency Refuses To Hand Over Footage
The pair were on their way back from a ceremony where Markle accepted an award when the incident occurred. Harry and Markle were followed "relentlessly" by paparazzi, with their SUV reportedly going up to 80 mph to escape them. A spokesperson for the couple shared about the incident. They said, "This relentless pursuit, lasting over 2 hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road." Including, "pedestrians and 2 NYPD officers."
The couple also dealt with another incident this week, when an alleged stalker was detained on their property. Their security team called police at 2 a.m., when Kevin Garcia Valdovinos was spotted near the entrance to their home. The security team then detained Valdovinos until police arrived, and he was later also arrested for misdemeanor stalking. He was released that morning on $2,500 bail. Valdovinos' charge also led to speculation that this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this. The couple was unharmed, and it is unconfirmed whether or not they were home at the time of the incident.