Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" with paparazzi in New York, a spokesperson for the couple said Wednesday.

But police and even the mayor of New York City, as well as a taxi driver who briefly transported the couple, played down the danger and duration of the reported pursuit.

The pair were uninjured in the incident Tuesday night that came almost 26 years after the Paris car crash that killed Harry's mother, Princess Diana, which Harry blames on paparazzi.

The episode occurred after Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, attended an awards ceremony in America's financial capital with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland.

Taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh told the Washington Post that two vehicles followed them.

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