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Harry and Meghan’s “near-catastrophic car chase” happened because they were too cheap to pay for a hotel, sources have revealed.
The entitled couple allegedly demanded the Carlyle — the late Princess Diana’s favorite hotel — give them a discounted room for their New York City visit this week.
According to law enforcement sources, bosses at the Carlyle refused the hefty discount, so the embattled pair instead stayed at a friend’s house on the Upper East Side.
But when the paparazzi began following them Tuesday night from the Ziegfeld Theater — in what their spokesperson claimed was a “relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours” — the duo didn’t want to lead the photographers back to their friend’s home and reveal where they were staying.
A New York City law enforcement source told Page Six: “They should have just gotten a hotel for the safety of everyone. Instead, they were cheap and wanted a free place to stay.”
According to the source, “Harry and Meghan’s people called the Carlyle ahead of the trip and asked for a discounted room, and the hotel said no.
“If they had just paid up and got a hotel in the first place, this supposed ‘dangerous’ paparazzi chase around town would never have happened. They would have been driven back to the Carlyle, been photographed going inside and that would have been the end of it.”
In the past, Harry and Meghan have been regulars at the Carlyle, where rooms go from around $1,240 and suites up to $6,000 a night. They checked into the iconic hotel during a visit to New York in 2021, and were seen dining at the hotel’s famed Bemelmans Bar.
Harry’s late mom, Diana, frequented the 1,800-square-foot Royal Suite on the 22nd floor of the Carlyle whenever she was in town. It now costs upward of $8,000 a night.
Why the pair didn’t pony up for a room remains a mystery, given they have a reported $100 million deal with Netflix plus numerous other business ventures.
Page Six reported Wednesday that Harry, 38, Markle and Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, were “extremely upset and shaken” after being chased for two hours in what their spokesperson said could have been a “near-catastrophic” incident.
After the “Suits” alum, 41, received an award from Gloria Steinem at the 2023 Women of Vision ceremony, the three got in an SUV around 10 p.m.
Followed by the paps, the couple, as well as Ragland, 66, and their security guards, reportedly went into the NYPD’s 19th Precinct, then jumped into a yellow cab in an effort to fool photographers, before returning to their own car.
The couple’s rep claimed the so-called “chase” “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.”
However, following their allegations, eyewitnesses claimed the couple exaggerated the incident, and that they were not followed for two hours.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination, and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests in regard,” the New York City Police Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Harry and Meghan put regular people’s lives at risk because they are cheap,” the law enforcement source told Page Six. “They should just accept that people are going to take photos of them, photographers are going to follow them — this is New York — and they have to take intelligent steps to ensure their own security for the safety of themselves and everyone else.”
Reps for Harry and Meghan didn’t get back to us. Reps for the Carlyle did not comment.
