Meghan given anti-kidnap training
Course is to ensure she is prepared for all possible emergencies
London, March 11: American actress Meghan Markle has been subjected to customary Army training to tackle any serious eventuality such as a hostage situation as she edges closer to becoming an official member of Britain’s royal family following her wedding to Prince Harry in May.
The 36-year-old was joined by her royal fiance as troops from the Special Air Service (SAS), the British Army’s specialist unit, used live ammunition as part of a recent training exercise, according to a newspaper.
The exercise is part of a course devised to ensure Markle is prepared for all possible emergencies as a member of the royal family, with the kidnap and rescue part of the course being described by a former SAS officer as devised to frighten the life out of anyone.
Gerald Moor, a former senior Army intelligence officer, told the newspaper that the kind of training the newest member of the royal family will have undergone is the toughest, provided by the Army’s finest. The royal wedding at St George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle on May 19 is set to be one of the most guarded events of the year, with an elite close protection unit of 30 SAS soldiers on duty.
Nearly every senior royal, apart from Queen Elizabeth II, has been on similar courses. However, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, did not do the course until after her wedding to Prince William. — PTI