Meghan Markle was recently in New York City, and—like any other tourist!—hit up Broadway for a show. However, unlike most people, the Duchess arrived in a motorcade, including three SUVs (two of which were decoys) and an unmarked police car.
According to Page Six, Meghan hired former Secret Service agents for the night out, and also worked with the NYPD. Which apparently upset the paparazzi? Even though plenty of photos of her were taken, so...not sure what there is to complain about.
The outlet spoke to one anonymous pap who said Meghan's convoy was “absolutely abnormal, totally over-the-top and excessive.” They added that “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.”
The anon celeb photographer went on to complain that “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.”
As a reminder, Meghan and Prince Harry alleged that they were chased by paps last time they were in NYC, so their heightened security seems pretty understandable. At the time, they were accused of manufacturing a PR stunt, which their rep shut down by saying "Respectfully, considering the duke’s family history, one would have to think nothing of the couple or anybody associated with them to believe this was any sort of PR stunt."
Meanwhile, another source tells Page Six that any celeb can ask for police protection, explaining “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."
Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
