Paul Burrell, a former royal butler, has spoken up about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s car pursuit and shared his opinions on it.
On Tuesday night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were involved in a ‘nearly catastrophic’ paparazzi chase in New York that lasted more than two hours.
A spokesperson said: ‘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.’
They added: ‘Despite being confronted by uniformed police multiple times, the paparazzi’s cars continued their pursuit in trying to follow the Sussexes and Doria to the private residence they were staying at.
‘Traffic violations by the drivers include driving on a sidewalk, going through red lights, reversing down a one way street, driving while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle.
‘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.’
People have been comparing the automobile pursuit to Princess Diana’s dying moments, after she died in hospital from injuries received in a car accident in a Paris road tunnel.
Her spouse, Dodi Fayed, and Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140 that crashed in Paris’s Pont de ‘Alma tunnel, were both pronounced dead at the site.
Paul, on the other hand, has slammed the ‘distasteful’ analogies.
Piers Morgan, who has been outspoken about the vehicle chase, questioned the 64-year-old on Talk TV’s Uncensored, saying: ‘Harry is attempting to use what happened to his mother as justification for his over-emotional, over-egging of the paparazzi soufflé once more.
‘When he evokes what happened to his mother in the Paris underpath, do you understand it or do you think he’s doing this too much?’
Paul’s reply began: ‘I think it’s too much, Piers.
‘I think this drama unfolding on the other side of the Atlantic is to make them more relevant again, it’s to bring them back into the public spotlight.
‘And as our dear late Queen said, our recollections may vary, that’s obviously what’s happening here.’
The I’m A Celebrity star continued: ‘To make any comparisons with a car chase in Paris, which took the Princess’ life, and one in Manhattan, is really, very sad.
‘It’s very sad, wrong and distasteful, they are two totally different circumstances.
‘The princess was actually avoiding the media, as much as she could possibly avoid the media that night, and the reverse, Meghan and Harry were courting it.
‘So there are two different circumstances here, nothing is similar other than photographs being taken.’
He added: ‘I think it is very distasteful. There is clearly an incident here, but it’s been blown out of all proportion.’
Talking about what he think Princess Diana would say to Harry at this moment, Paul added that he thought she would say: ‘Harry, I applaud you for marrying for love and looking after your family but you have to abide by the rules.’
He went on: ‘She would be appalled by this mess that’s going on at the moment.
‘Harry seems to be a victim, he seems to be a passenger on this train and it’s going to end in tears, and we all know it’s going to end in tears.’
‘I don’t want to see his heart broke again,’ Paul shared, adding: ‘I don’t think he can save himself.’
Piers Morgan Uncensored airs weekdays at 8pm on TalkTV.
