Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are headed back to New York City — five months after their last trip resulted in a “near catastrophic” car chase.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, and the Duchess of Sussex, 42, will make another pilgrimage to the Big Apple for World Mental Health Day on Tuesday, October 10. The couple’s Archewell Foundation is set to host its first ever in-person event: a summit for parents titled “Mental Wellness in a Digital Age.”
The event will feature parents who have experienced tragic loss related to their children’s usage of social media. Harry and Meghan have been working with the parents behind the scenes for a while now, according to the pair’s rep.
“The families have been engaged with The Archewell Foundation for the past year, bolstering community and driving towards solutions,” a spokesperson for the twosome told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 5. “Together, they are united in their mission to share personal experiences, data and research to ensure the same does not happen to other families.”
The Sussexes will participate in the summit alongside Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in a conversation moderated by Carson Daly. The event aims to help parents navigate the ever-changing world of the internet and explore ways to build a safer internet for kids and teens.
The trip will mark Harry and Meghan’s first visit to New York City since May when they attended the Ms. Foundation’s 2023 Women of Vision Awards, where Meghan was presented with the Women of Vision honor by activist Gloria Steinem.
After the ceremony, however, the couple faced a scary situation when they left the venue with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and were followed by “a ring of highly aggressive” photographers.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” a rep for the couple 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 involved.”
The New York Police Department, meanwhile, said that the couple were able to reach their destination safely. “There were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests in regard,” the department noted at the time.
After the duo faced backlash for their version of events, an insider exclusively told Us that Harry and Meghan were “shocked” by the public’s response to the incident. “They insist their account of the car chase was absolutely not exaggerated, and for people to say otherwise is so hurtful and out of line,” the source explained.
