Rumor has it, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle opted to skip a hotel stay due to being refused a discount.

Prince Harry may have his hands full these days (he has been testifying in London court as his war with the British tabloids continues). But amid all this, it seems that not everyone is done going over the details of exactly what went down during the supposed car chase that saw Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle being pursued by paparazzi as they rode a cab through the streets of New York.

Since then, reports have suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could have easily avoided the whole mess if they just stayed at the British royals’ favorite hotel in New York. It is also believed that Prince Harry and Meghan almost booked a stay but ended up choosing a friend’s home instead.

What Happened In NYC With Harry And Meghan?

Prince Harry and Meghan had been in New York to attend the 2023 Women of Vision Awards where the Duchess of Sussex was honored for her work as the Global Ambassador for World Vision and a UN Women’s Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership.

Along with her husband, the former actress was also accompanied by her mother, Doria Ragland.

Everything seemed to be going well for the couple until they left the event with Ragland. According to the couple’s rep, they were relentlessly pursued by paparazzi for two hours.

Video footage from that night showed Prince Harry, Meghan, and Ragland in a cab as photographers attempted to snap pictures of the group.

Was The Car Chase With Harry And Meghan Real?

While the couple’s team insisted that a chase involving the paparazzi took place, the incident has since been played down. Later on, Sukhcharn Singh, who had been their cab driver, also claimed that a chase essentially did not happen while the group was riding his car.

And while New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) later called out the paparazzi for the incident, no charges were formally filed against anyone. Adams also believes that the whole ordeal lasted 10 minutes instead of two hours, as the Sussexes’ camp has claimed.

Did The Incident Happen Because Prince Harry Was Being Too Cheap To Stay At This NYC Hotel?

Weeks after the incident, the speculations surrounding the royal couple’s time in New York continued. Since then, reports have also suggested that the whole thing could have possibly been avoided if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opted to stay the night at New York’s The Carlyle instead.

The landmark hotel on New York’s Upper East Side has been known to attract celebrities, dignitaries, and royals, especially members of the British royal family. That’s no coincidence considering that The Carlyle was named after British essayist Thomas Carlyle.

Over the years, the late Princess Diana was spotted checking into the hotel several times. Back in 2014, Prince William and Kate also stayed at The Carlyle when they visited New York during a brief American tour.

Prince Harry and Meghan themselves are no strangers to The Carlyle. The royal couple was previously spotted checking into the swanky hotel back in September 2021 (although it is believed that they didn’t stay at the Royal Suite, which is Princess Diana’s room of choice).

When they returned to New York in May, however, it seems the Duke and Duchess opted to stay with a friend instead of booking a room. And according to reports, they may have made that fateful decision after being refused a discount.

A report from Page Six claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan’s representatives contacted The Carlyle prior to their trip. They supposedly asked for a discount, but the hotel refused. Following this, it is understood that the royal couple opted to stay with a friend during their time in New York instead.

Since the incident, however, some have pointed out that everything could have been avoided if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opted to book with The Carlyle despite getting no discount.

“They should have just gotten a hotel for the safety of everyone. Instead, they were cheap and wanted a free place to stay,” an unnamed source from New York City law enforcement stated.

“If they had just paid up and got a hotel in the first place, this supposed ‘dangerous’ paparazzi chase around town would never have happened. They would have been driven back to the Carlyle, been photographed going inside and that would have been the end of it.”

The Carlyle is located just a few minutes away from the Ziegfeld Ballroom where Prince Harry and Meghan attended their event. If they had chosen to stay at the property, it is likely that the paparazzi wouldn’t have had much of an opportunity to pursue them.

And if the royals were ever concerned about their privacy, The Carlyle has always been known to operate with the utmost discretion, as stated on its hotel website. To this day, it remains unclear why Prince Harry and Meghan didn’t choose to book a stay instead.

Now with the royal couple possibly traveling back to New York soon, a do-over is possible. As previously reported, Markle, along with other awardees, is being honored at a luncheon in the Big Apple after the duchess became the digital media national winner of the 48th Annual Gracie Awards for her Spotify podcast Archetypes.

Perhaps, this time, the royal couple would choose to stay at The Carlyle while they’re in town, although it is unclear if the property would extend them a discount this time around.