Prince Harry’s ‘real-life kidnap test’

LONDON - Prince Harry recently underwent an al-Qaida-type kidnap by the SAS to prepare him for his new role as an Army combat pilot.

News of the survival training emerged following a row over a TV docu-drama showing the prince as a Taliban hostage.

In the Channel 4 programme, Harry cracked and is forced to read a message denouncing Britain and the war in Iraq.

But in reality, the prince came through his daylong ordeal with flying colours.

He spent five hours being interrogated by SAS veterans pretending to be fanatical Muslim terrorists.

At one point he was hooded and had what he thought was a gun pointed at his head.

“The point of the exercise is to stay calm and think on your feet,” the Daily Star quoted one Army colleague who took the same course as saying.

“You don’t want to be so gung-ho that you piss them off so badly they want to kill you.

“But you can’t roll over and give in either. They teach you to be neutral and to try to find a human contact with them without giving them what they want,” he said.

The prince was taught to subtly manipulate his captors and to stay constantly alert for internal power struggles within the group.

One aide said: “In real life, he did bloody well. He’s got plenty of nerve and a lot of self-control.

“It was pretty hairy and as real as they could make it.

“Plenty of people blow it but Harry kept his cool and came away with an excellent survival rating.” (ANI)