The Royal Family Won't Be Commenting on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Car Chase

Now that the dust has settled following reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" in New York City after the duchess's appearance at the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision Awards, it appears that the Firm will remain tight-lipped about the whole ordeal. New reports state that since Harry and Meghan stepped away from their roles as senior royals, both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have refrained from making any sort of comments in regard to the Sussexes — and that rule will extend to this week's incident.

A source told Entertainment Tonight that "since Harry and Meghan have stepped back from royal duties, the palace generally does not comment on their activities."

On Wednesday morning, a representative for Harry and Meghan shared that the couple and Doria Ragland, Markle's mother, were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi" the night before after they left the Ziegfeld Theater. 

"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers," the statement read. "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 in involved."

Of course, parallels were drawn between the situation and the death of Princess Diana, who passed away after a crash involving paparazzi in Paris, France, on Aug. 31, 1997.

A separate source told ET that both Harry and Meghan are "understandably shaken but thankful everyone is OK," adding, "they were fearful. Certainly, the memories and echoes of what happened to Harry’s mother was front of mind."

Julian Phillips, the New York Police Department's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, shared a statement after reports of the incident made headlines on Wednesday, saying officers "assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrested in regard."