Meghan Markle skips award ceremony days after ‘near catastrophic’ NYC car chase

Meghan Markle skipped the Women In Media award ceremony in the wake of what has been described as a harried “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase through Manhattan.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, was to be presented with a shiny gong at the Gracie Awards for her “Archetypes” podcast on Tuesday.

But after claiming she and husband Prince Harry were involved in a terrifying car chase on May 16, it appears the exiled royals decided to stay home instead.

Despite her absence at the Beverly Hills ceremony, the duchess released a statement responding to her win for best Entertainment Podcast Host. 

“Thank you to the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for this prestigious honor,” Markle said in her statement.

“This is a shared success for me and the team behind Archetypes — most of whom are women — and the inspiring guests who joined me each week.”

Last week, a spokesperson for the Sussexes claimed Harry, Meghan, and her mother, Doria Ragland, were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase.”

Harry, 38, and Markle left Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown with Ragland around 9:50 p.m. after an awards ceremony.

The trio were then tailed by paparazzi unable to get any shots of the famous couple as they left the venue.

Soon after, a rep for the pair said the ordeal happened “at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.”

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

“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.”

“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved,” the statement concluded.

The photo agency in question, Backgrid USA, pushed back at the claims, saying its snappers “had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras.”

The company refused to hand over footage of the ordeal from its photographers after the couple demanded it.

The NYPD is investigating the royal couple’s claims.