NEW YORK: Sukhcharn Singh, an Indian-American cab driver in New York City who drove Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a short while while they tried to escape the paparazzi, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “looked nervous” during the brief ride.
Speaking to the BBC, Singh, who goes by the name Sonny, said that he picked the couple up at a local police precinct in Midtown Manhattan.
“I was on 67th Street and then the security guard hailed me. Next thing you know, Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab,” he said.
“We got blocked by a garbage truck, and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures.”
The couple were about to share their destination, when the security guard made the call to return to the police precinct, Singh told the BBC.
“They looked nervous, I think they were being chased the whole day or something,” he said, adding: “They were pretty nervous, but the security guard, he was on it.”
On Tuesday night, the couple had attended an awards ceremony in the city along with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
When they were chased by numerous photographers after leaving, the couple tried to take shelter from the paparazzi by going to a Manhattan police station — which is where Singh picked them up.
For at least the few minutes they were in Singh’s car, he did not believe they were in danger.
“I don’t think that’s true, I think that’s all exaggerated and stuff like that. Don’t read too much into that,” Singh told the BBC.
He later added “that must have happened before” they got in his taxi.
“New York City’s the safest place to be… There’s police stations, cops on every corner, there’s no reason to be afraid in New York.”
The paparazzi were not being aggressive during his drive, he said.
“They were behind us. I mean, they stayed on top of us, that was pretty much it, it was nothing more. They kept their distance.”
In a statement, Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said they had experienced a “near catastrophic car chase”.
The New York police also said numerous photographers “made their transport challenging”.
Singh also described Harry and Meghan as “nice people”.
“At the end of the trip, they say, ‘Oh nice meeting you’,” and asked his name, Singh recalled.
As his passengers disembarked, the security guard paid and tipped him for the ride.
“It was great. Ten-minute drive, $50… What can you ask for? You can’t beat that,” he told the BBC.
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