LONDON:
A photo agency that took pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during what the couple termed a dangerous car chase has declined the request to hand over the images to them.
Backgrid told BBC News that it rejected a legal demand to share all the material taken over several hours in New York City on Tuesday night. Backgrid lawyers said Americans had long ago rejected “royal prerogative”.
Conflicting accounts of what Meghan and Harry’s spokesperson described as the “near catastrophic car chase” resulting in “multiple near collisions” have emerged since the occurrence was made public.
New York police said “many photographers” had made the couple’s journey from an awards ceremony on Tuesday evening “challenging.” Still, they added “no reported collisions, summonses, wounds, or arrests.”
A taxi driver who briefly drove them suggested their spokesperson’s account was “exaggerated,” while some photographers involved denied parts of the claim.
Backgrid said it received the letter from the Sussexes’ legal team on Thursday.
The letter stated: “We now demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all images, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next many hours.”
The agency replied in a letter: “In America, as I’m sure you know, the property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties can’t just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do.”
“Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that this country long ago rejected his English rules of the royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown. We stand by our founding fathers.”
Backgrid said it was investigating the conduct of four freelance paparazzi photographers involved in taking pictures of the Sussexes, even as the agency disputed the couple’s characterisation of the incident.
According to the agency, the photographers felt the couple was never in “immediate danger at any point.”
