Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Hit Major Marriage Milestone in Wake of Paparazzi Fiasco

It’s been a hectic month for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but that didn’t stop them from celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. The couple reportedly found time for an anniversary date just days after their “near catastrophic car chase” in New York City. Their official anniversary is May 19.

Markle and Prince Harry had a massive royal wedding in 2018 at George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. They made history then even if they didn’t realize how the trajectory of their life together would diverge from expectations. According to a report by PEOPLE, the two celebrated their anniversary in spite of the harrowing incident they dealt with on Tuesday, May 16. At the time, their spokesperson said they were chased by “highly aggressive paparazzi” for about two hours, forcing them to careen through the city with Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland in the car.

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” their spokesperson said at the time. “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. Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”

Markle, Harry, and Ragland reportedly tried to avoid the paparazzi because they were heading back to the private residence of a friend where they were staying for the night. They hoped not to reveal the location to the press and bring unwanted public attention to their friend, but things got out of hand. The police and city officials publicly admonished the paparazzi for this scene as well.

Of course, the ordeal drew a lot of comparisons to the tragic death of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana in 1997. She was fleeing paparazzi in Paris, France when her car turned over and cut her life short. However, some pundits wondered if the prince and his publicity team were evoking this comparison on purpose to gain public sympathy. Whatever the case, Markle, Harry, and Ragland got home safely that night and celebrated their anniversary in private on Friday. It’s not clear how the couple spent that time together and it’s clear that they prefer it that way.