After Meghan Markle’s last terrifying incident in New York City, she is taking extra precautions in the Big Apple this week — though some sources say she may have gone a bit overboard!
According to Page Six on Friday, the Duchess of Sussex enjoyed a night out on the town and saw the Broadway show Gypsy on Thursday night, bringing along with her a security detail. That is normal for a high-profile celebrity like Meg. However, she didn’t just have one or two security vehicles escorting her around as other stars tend to do! No, the former actress took four! Damn! She’s not messing around when it comes to her safety!
Related: Prince Harry’s Latest Court Appearance Is Turning Into Quite The Circus!
The outlet reported Meghan had three SUVs and an unmarked police vehicle from the New York Police Department with her that evening. In addition, she hired former Secret Service agents for her private security detail, and the unmarked car had two intel detectives inside. The plan? The Suits alum reportedly rode in one of the SUVs while the other two cars acted as decoys with only the drivers inside, no one else.
The motorcade traveled with Meghan to a dinner she had with friends at Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar. FYI, Prince Harry was not with her. He is in Ukraine. They then went to the musical at the Majestic Theatre afterward. While the As Ever founder was escorted out by the venue’s security and her own team, Page Six reported the evening went off without a hitch! She reportedly was able to go unnoticed by fellow attendees. Most importantly, there were no threats to her safety!
But if something happened, the outlet noted it’s possible the empty decoy vehicles, save for the drivers, would have been used to send paparazzi on a wild goose chase around NYC. Whoa! Apparently, Meghan did not want a repeat of what happened nearly two years ago in the city!
As you may recall, the 43-year-old and Harry claimed they almost suffered “a near catastrophic car chase” with the paparazzi that lasted for two hours after the Mrs. Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards in May 2023. However, folks didn’t buy the couple’s story, including NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who said it was “hard to believe” such a high-speed chase lasted that long through the congested streets of Manhattan! A high-ranking NYPD source even told The Post that there had been “no collision reports or 911 calls” around the time of the incident, and the chase “definitely wasn’t two hours.” Yeah, you’d think a situation with “multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers,” as their rep alleged, would have drawn a lot of attention and resulted in a 911 call from others. But yet nothing…
Regardless, Meghan and Harry insisted this was not some “sort of PR stunt.” Given his mom, Princess Diana, died from a paparazzi chase, we don’t even want to think for a second they may have tried to fake a similar ordeal to drum up publicity. That is a line we can’t imagine they’d ever cross, but some people thought they did… Meanwhile, The Duke of Sussex was “suspicious of a cover-up” afterward, though nothing else came out of that theory.
Ultimately, the incident reportedly left Harry and Meghan “extremely upset and shaken” — so much so that she is now going all out with the security detail in NYC this week! However, she may have gone a little too far with it, at least that is what an insider says!
A paparazzi source told Page Six that her security measures are “absolutely abnormal, totally over-the-top and excessive.” Not even Taylor Swift, a massive pop star who has paparazzi and fans constantly around her when she steps out, doesn’t have as much security with her! The pap insider claimed:
“Taylor [Swift] usually has two cars — her car that she’s in and a security car with her team, and if she’s going somewhere, she has a separate car on-site with her team already there, but they don’t travel together.”
Thinking about it, wouldn’t having as much security as Meghan did on Thursday draw more attention to her from the public and paparazzi, thus increasing the security risk? Hmm.
The source also mentioned that other stars like Kim Kardashian, JAY-Z, Beyoncé, and Rihanna travel with one car. The only expectation supposedly is when they are with their family, then they have two. However, the insider said that “no one gets police escorts.” So, they feel Meg has done too much here:
“Meghan is out of control and over-the-top, and it’s ridiculous if the city is paying for this. And if NYPD was not on duty, then they shouldn’t be allowed to run lights. Somebody’s got to be paying for it.”
Here’s the thing, though! While most celebs don’t use NYPD services, it doesn’t mean they can’t! A second source explained that celebs can use the department for extra protection if their head of security asks:
“It’s something that can be made available based on the threat assessment and the circumstances of where they’re going and what they’re doing.”
In Meghan’s case, they may have wanted to beef up the security and use NYPD services to avoid another issue. That said, although one officer was spotted in uniform next to her, the second source noted the local precinct may have had the cop already posted where Meg was going to control traffic.
No matter what, Meghan was not risking it this time! Her safety is important at the end of the day, and if four security cars made her more comfortable, so be it! After all, if there is any family who are more than justified when it comes to paparazzi car chase fears, it’s them!
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below!
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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