Harry, Meghan car chase ‘definitely not’ two hours: source

Police sources are casting doubt on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claims they were targeted in a “near catastrophic” paparazzi chase on Tuesday night, saying that the incident was “definitely not” the two-hour ordeal the couple portrayed.

A high-ranking source reiterated the NYPD’s statement that cops had “no collision reports or 911 calls” related to the chase — but also noted that two uniformed police were “nearly missed” by paparazzi as Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, left the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown around 9:50 p.m..

“We only had one [car] as part of this. [The alleged chase] definitely wasn’t two hours,” the source told The Post on Wednesday.

The couple – accompanied at the Women of Vision Awards by Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland – were traveling in a vehicle flanked by both a private security car and an NYPD vehicle, sources said.

The group wanted to return to the private Upper East Side residence where they were staying the night, but were apparently hindered by “significant” press presence that followed them from the venue, sources said.

The small entourage spent about one hour driving in circles between FDR Drive and West 57th Street before stopping at the 19th Precinct on the Upper East Side, where they briefly huddled in a garage before jumping into a yellow cab.

Harry, Meghan, and Doria remained hidden long enough for police to block traffic, the source explained, and were able to arrive back at their accommodations without paparazzi following.

Speaking to The Post on Wednesday afternoon, cab driver Sukcharn Singh said the exiled royals were briefly in his cab before more photographers showed up and they decided to go back into the precinct. 

“They seemed like nice people but they didn’t really say anything,” he recalled.

“They didn’t seem that scared but they looked nervous.”

Singh said the six paparazzi seemed to “come out of nowhere” toward his cab.

“It wasn’t scary what happened when I had them in the cab but I don’t know what happened before with them,” he explained.

The couple’s security guard, he continued, “did more talking.”

“He seemed really hyper but I don’t think he was from New York,” Singh noted.

One witness who saw the trio at the high-profile event, where Meghan was honored by Gloria Steinem, noted that they “were dodging paparazzi all night.”

“They came through the back through the Hertz car rental store, so despite the barricades and police presence up front they dodged the paparazzi and headed through a secret entrance, so many [paparazzi] were left without pictures,” the witness said of their covert arrival.

Later, when Harry, Meghan, and Doria were getting back into their car, the witness said the photographers “were aggressive but not crazy.”

“When Meghan and Harry emerged…they had someone blocking their faces so despite the paparazzi waiting for more than four hours, none of them were able to get shots,” they explained.

On Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alleged that the couple was involved in a dangerous pursuit at the hands of “highly aggressive paparazzi” who almost mowed down a police officer.

The California-based pair’s team even cautioned the public against accessing photos of the alleged chase, which they said promoted “a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”

An insider previously told Page Six that there were as many as 12 photogs hounding the group.

The Sussexes’ fraught description of the evening immediately drew comparisons to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash partially attributed to paparazzi pursuit in 1997.

“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how his mom died,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference on Wednesday, before branding those involved in the incident as “reckless and irresponsible.”

News of the Harry and Meghan’s nighttime press run-in also comes amid the prince’s ongoing legal battle over his security in the UK.

The Duke of Sussex’s private detail was revoked when he and Meghan decamped to California in 2020. He is now trying to secure the right to hire public police for his family’s protection when they visit his country.

Additional reporting by Dana Kennedy