On Tuesday night, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s lives were endangered when they were forced to flee from a pack of 12 cars driven by aggressive paparazzi.

The ensuing car chase lasted for two hours, as a driver for the Sussexes attempted to evade the pursuers so that the couple would not be followed to the private residence where they were spending the night.

At least that’s the story as Harry and Meghan tell it.

Several parties have now called the couple’s account into question, including reps for Backgrid, the agency that employed the paparazzi who allegedly gave chase.

Attorneys for Backgrid are not denying that their photographers attempted to take photos of Harry and Meghan, but they say there was no chase, and there certainly was no pack of 12 cars.

Backgrid claims they only had four photographers on the scene, three in cars and one on a bike.

And repos for the photojournalism outlet say they’re willing to go to court, if need be.

The company released a statement this week insisting that they “had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras.”

Harry and Meghan countered that the matter can be cleared up rather easily:

All Backgrid has to do is release the footage that was shot by its photographers that night.

The company doesn’t want to do that, however, and their lawyers released a scathing statement accusing the Sussexes of trying to flex royal privilege in a country with no royalty.

“In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it,” the statement reads.

“Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do.”

From there, the attorneys sarcastically advised Harry’s legal team to brief their client on the laws of his adopted country:

“Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago,” Backgrid’s statement reads.

“We stand by our founding fathers.”

Needless to say, it might be a while before we find out what exactly happened on the streets of Manhattan Tuesday night, and this situation is likely to get uglier before it gets any better.

But if this was really some sort of bizarre PR stunt from the Sussexes, we think it’s safe to say it’s backfired in spectacular fashion.

After all, the last thing Harry and Meghan need these days is another controversy.

The Sussexes were in New York so that Meghan could receive an award from the Ms. Foundation, and now, that honor has been overshadowed by this bizarre scandal.

Worse, this situation might lead to another round of messy legal wrangling for the embattled couple.

And in the meantime, it doesn’t seem to be doing any wonders for their reputation.

We’ll have updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.

Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Demand Car Chase Footage as Critics Continue to … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.