History repeats? Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s car chase echoes Princess Diana’s tragic fate

It's an alarming deja vu situation for the British Royals, one that Prince Harry might have predicted.

On Tuesday, in a heart-stopping turn of events, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mother found themselves in the middle of a "near catastrophic car chase," with relentless paparazzi. The incident took place after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an award ceremony in New York. The couple's representative issued a statement shedding light on the dangerous incident.

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The representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that the couple was involved in a highly aggressive paparazzi chase. "This relentless pursuit, which lasted 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."

The incident comes five months after he opened up about his fear that his "wife and his late mother," Princess Diana mighthave similar and heart-breaking fates.

"I didn't want history to repeat itself," said Harry in the Netflix documentary after stepping down from royal duties in 2020.

The incident instantly drew comparisons to the 1997 fatal crash of Princess Diana, Prince Harry's mother who died in a car crash in a road tunnel in Paris on August 31, 1997.

The incident remains to be one of the painful examples showing the dark side of the paparazzi culture.

The tragedy prompted a global conversation about the ethics and responsibilities of the media, particularly aboutthe privacy and safety of public figures.

This was not the first time that she was followed. Diana was one of the most popular women across the world. Journalists and paparazzi would follow her every time.

But what went wrong thattime? Was it the driver's fault or the paparazzi who followed them?

Harry was only 12 years old when his mother and her partner Dodi Fayed were killed when their driver slammed the car into a pillar while speeding away from the paparazzi.

During the investigation, the French officials claimed that Henri Paul, the driver was highly drunk which led him to lose control over the car. His blood samples were found to be three times high than the legal limit to drive. Though some experts cast doubt on the results claiming that the tests were not conducted properly.

While some paparazzi ran away from the place where the car crashed, the others were prosecuted but released after some years.

Speaking on his mother's death,Prince Harry had said it is a wound that has not healed yet. He said, "Every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back to that moment."

(With inputs from agencies)

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