Prince Harry was at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday for a flight to London to attend the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana when a car crashed through the perimeter of the facility’s fence and its driver chased by police.
Around 20 police cars can be seen just off an LAX runway surrounding a car that authorities say crashed through a fence. The incident happened around 6 pm Pacific time – less than an hour before Prince Harry was set to take off.
It wasn’t clear why the car crashed through the fence. The man driving the car was apprehended, LAX Police told DailyMail.com. There were no injuries, police said.
The department said it didn’t have any information indicating the incident was connected to a particular flight. They’re continuing to investigate, they said.
It was likely a dramatic start to a weekend that will see Harry reunited with the Royal Family – where there’s been reported tension – especially in the wake of he and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry is returning to London to unveil a statue of Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday. He will join his brother, Prince William, in what will be their first time seeing each other since the April funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip – the husband of Queen Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, the princes have drastically scaled back next week’s unveiling of the statue of Princess Diana, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The brothers were due to put aside their bitter rift to host an elaborate ceremony on July 1 at Kensington Palace, her former home, on what would have been their mother’s 60th birthday.
Instead they will preside over a significantly reduced gathering featuring just a handful of guests – the estranged princes themselves and Spencer relatives.
Nearly 20 police cars surround a car that smashed through the fence at LAX airport just ahead of Prince Harry’s takeoff
Prince Harry can be seen approaching LAX Thursday as he heads to London to attend the unveiling of a new statue of his mother next week
The Cadillac SUV driven by a chauffer delivered Prince Harry to the LAX airport on Thursday afternoon
Up until this week the princes had been planning to welcome more than 100 of their mother’s friends, former staff and supporters. But Covid rules have pressed them into a rethink.
Guests have been told that next Thursday’s large ceremony has been scrapped and that a new date will be fixed for September.
It is a bitter disappointment for many in Diana’s circle who had hoped their presence would help bring about a reconciliation between William and his brother.
They have been barely on speaking terms since Harry and Meghan quit royal life for California. Whether this makes a rapprochement that much easier remains to be seen.
The pair have privately told friends that they will do their utmost to ensure their differences do not distract from what they hope will be a moving celebration to recognize their mother’s ‘positive impact’.
Ever since they announced plans for the statue it has been bedeviled by problems. Originally it was hoped to be unveiled in 2017.
But there were delays over the design and, according to insiders, differences of opinion over what period in Diana’s life the statue should represent.
Such divisions led the committee set up after her death in 1997 in order to find a suitable way to celebrate her life to conclude that a statue would be wrong.
At the time, her family expressed reservations that no sculptor had ever properly ‘caught’ Diana. There were also real fears that a statue would become a shrine.
The brothers (pictured at Prince Philip’s funeral in April this year) were due to put aside their bitter rift to host an elaborate ceremony on July 1 at Kensington Palace. Instead they will preside over a significantly reduced gathering featuring just a handful of guest
Princes William and Harry have drastically scaled back next week’s unveiling of the statue of Princess Diana, the Daily Mail can reveal (pictured: the Princess of Wales arriving at the Serpentine Gallery in London in June 1995)
During the family gathering, Kate Middleton is set to help Prince William and Prince Harry put on a united front when they meet at the unveiling, reports say.
The Duchess of Cambridge reportedly agreed to attend the ceremony at Kensington Palace next Thursday.
An insider said the 39-year-old had seen the project since the beginning and would want to be there to support her husband.
It comes after it was claimed Kate and William did not have a sit-down conversation with Harry after Prince Philip’s funeral because they feared details would be leaked.
Royal historian Robert Lacey said the chat did not happened because the Cambridges were worried their comments would be given to the US press.
The row has intensified in recent weeks following the birth of Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet – the name Prince Philip affectionately used for the Queen.
Claims from the BBC then followed that the monarch had not been consulted, but the couple’s lawyers said it was ‘false and defamatory’ to suggest they did not discuss using the name with Her Majesty.
Lilibet has not been seen in public yet, although the Queen has reportedly met her over a video call.
Lacey says the meeting needs to have far more substance than just appearing for the cameras if the rift is to begin to heal.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘Surely when they’re gathered together to honor their mother and what Diana stood for, that will be the time when we can hope for some sort of reconciliation and serious talk.
‘Otherwise if they just appear together in public in front of the statue and there’s nothing more, I think we would rightly conclude that it’s a superficial gesture.’
Prince William and Harry will put differences aside to attend the unveiling of a new statue of their mother next week
It comes after it was claimed Kate and William did not have a sit-down conversation with Harry after Prince Philip’s funeral because they feared details would be leaked
Lacey also reflected on the brothers’ recent appearance at their grandfather, Prince Philip’s funeral, and how their relationship has altered since Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
‘A funeral would be when you would hope brothers thinking of other things, honoring their grandfather, would come together,’ he said.
‘I’m not saying when they walked together across that courtyard it was fake. As we saw, Kate rather skillfully brought the two together, but apparently nothing came of it once they got inside.
‘Certainly the reports they had a big family sit down were sadly denied on both sides.’
Prince Harry is leaving wife Meghan Markle in California. She recently gave birth to their daughter
Harry is leaving wife Meghan Markle, who has recently given birth, back at their $15 million California mansion to take part in the unveiling of the statue.
He may make the journey in time to serve out his ‘amber list’ quarantine at Frogmore ahead of the unveiling, on July 1.
Frogmore Cottage was initially gifted to Harry and Meghan by the Queen after the couple’s wedding.
But they gave up the property after dramatically quitting frontline royal duties and moving to the US.
The keys were later handed to Princess Eugenie, who is living there with husband Jack Brooksbank and their recently born first child August.
According to the Sun, the house has been divided into two parts to make it Covid safe for Harry’s arrival.
A source told the paper: ‘Eugenie and Jack were handed the keys last year and told they could use it while Harry and Meghan were in America.
‘The cottage is now literally split into two, meaning Harry can isolate in one half of the house without ever coming into contact with his cousin and her family.’