Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, reportedly, underwent an intense security course ahead of their respective royal weddings.
In the book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed that the sisters-in-law underwent a two-day training course at the British Army’s SAS headquarters to prepare for compromising situations.
In 2011, Middleton also attended a two-day course ahead of her royal wedding to Prince William. And Markle attended the course two years ago.
“Meghan took part in a staged kidnapping, where she was bundled up in a car by a 'terrorist,' taken to a different location, and then 'saved' by officers firing fake guns (the kind used in Hollywood films) for realism. During the mock kidnapping, Meghan was taught to develop a relationship with the enemy. She was also instructed on how to drive a car while in pursuit,” the authors said.
A source told the authors that Markle felt that the two-day course was very intense and scary. But as a member of the royal family, it was a course that she needed to complete.
While Middleton and Markle’s respective weddings went by without any problems, the same cannot be said about other members of the royal family.
According to People, Princess Anne was involved in a kidnapping incident in 1974, but she managed to survive the incident.
Back then, she was riding a private car with her husband, Captain Mark Phillips when another car stopped them by blocking the way. The driver, Ian Ball fired shots at Princess Anne’s car, which left her chauffeur and private detective, James Beaton injured.
Ball climbed into the front seat of Princess Anne’s Rolls-Royce before ordering her to get out of the vehicle. However, she refused.
Six years later, Princess Anne talked about the scary incident and revealed that Ball tackled her and pinned her to the floor. However, she still maintained her calm demeanor.
“We had a sort of discussion about where or where not we were going to go,” she said.
A passerby named Ronnie Russell, who also happened to be an amateur boxer, saw Princess Anne and rushed to her rescue. Russell was, later on, given the George Medal – Britain’s highest civilian award for gallantry by Queen Elizabeth.
According to reports, there was also a time when an armed man made his way to the queen’s bedroom. Instead of panicking, the queen spoke with him calmly until her security officers arrived.