Meghan Markle may have been a star on the small screen before she met Prince Harry, however, after the very public announcement of their engagement in November 2017, the actress' profile intensified.
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The future royal bride was signed up to a gruelling personal protection course - the same one, her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, took part in when she became a full-time member of the royal family.
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According to the new book Finding Freedom, the Duchess of Sussex was put on a special two-day SAS security training course to help prepare her for any difficult situations and hostage attempts.
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Co-authors and royal journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote: "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."
© Photo: Getty ImagesMeghan and Harry went public with their romance at the Invictus Games in September 2017
They added: "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."
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Although Kate's training took part after her 2011 wedding, Meghan was forced to undergo the course - led by the British Army's most elite regiment - as both she and Prince Harry received an "unusually high number of threats".
© Photo: Getty ImagesFinding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, £13.60, Amazon
The training, which all royals apart from the Queen have completed, 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.
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It's been previously reported that Prince 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.
The demanding exercises are said to be designed "to frighten the life out of anyone," reports The Sun. According to former Army intelligence officer Gerald Moor, the training would have no doubt been "the toughest, provided by the Army's finest… who have done everything imaginable during service in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland".
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