Huge crowds meets her wherever she goes, and her presence can immediately electrify a gathering. But the Duchess of Cambridge's heightened profile also makes her vulnerable to kidnap. So Prince William's wife has been on a gruelling personal protection course.
Organised by the SAS, the training teaches key survival skills such as noticing anything unusual in your surroundings, driving under pressure and passing on coded messages. It is routine for royals, other VIPs and people working in dangerous countries.William took the course aged 16, and was taught how to handle a submachine gun and was bundled into a car in a mock ambush.And this type of training may have been behind Princess Anne's quick thinking when she foiled a kidnap attempt in 1974.She was praised for her bravery in staying cool when her car was ambushed by an armed man suffering from mental illness.
"It was all so infuriating; I kept saying I didn't want to get out of the car, and I was not going to get out of the car," said the Princess Royal later. "I nearly lost my temper with him, but I knew that if I did.... he would shoot me."
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Over 30 years later, the newest member of the family is being schoolled in how to handle all eventualities. "The Palace wants to ensure Kate's new status doesn't make her vulnerable to attack," a source told The Sun. "She has been well trained in what to do should the unthinkable happen. "VIP kidnap protection training teaches how to cope both mentally and physically. "The mental element involves reacting to unusual situations, such as when there was a stranger in the Queen's bedroom — and she just started talking to him."