When former actress Meghan Markle accepted Prince Harry's proposal last November, her life changed in so many ways. When the average woman says, "Yes" and becomes engaged, her life doesn't change that drastically. This proposal was different because Markle is now engaged to a prince, and a lot of things have gone into the preparation for her to become an official member of the royal family.
Last week the 36-year-old bride to be was baptized and confirmed into the Church of England to honor Queen Elizabeth who is head of that particular church. Also, recently Meghan underwent two days of intense security training by the British Special Forces.
Every senior royal has had the same training except Queen Elizabeth. Princess Diana had security training in 1983. Duchess Kate underwent her training after she was married to Prince William. The security team decided that Meghan needed the training now because she has already taken on some of the royal duties, and security issues are more prominent now than they were for Kate Middleton before her marriage.
What the training involved
Security expert Lou Palumbo explained to Inside Edition what was involved in the training. First, he reminded the television newsmagazine and its viewers that Meghan is being prepared for the new world she is entering. He said she is going to be a target for kidnapping and other dangerous situations where guns might be fired. In other words, Prince Harry's future wife must never let her guard down even though she will be surrounded by dozens of bodyguards.
One of the first phases she underwent was learning not panic in dangerous situations because that would decrease her survival chances. She was also trained on how to develop a relationship with captors in the event she is actually kidnapped.
In order to make the training as real as possible, the former "Suits" star was surrounded by real guns and live ammunition. Palumbo said live ammunition was used in the training so Meghan could know what real gunfire sounds like.
About the security team
The kind of training Meghan completed was provided by the Army's toughest men who have been in sensitive situations while serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Island, according to Gerald Moor, a former senior Army Intelligence Officer. Moor concluded that the future bride and everyone who completes the training finds it to be physically and psychologically intense.
Having round-the-clock protection is nothing new for Meghan. When she was living in Toronto while filming her drama series, she was surrounded by a security team.
She is more of a target now than she was then since she is just weeks away from becoming Prince Harry's wife.
Megan's wedding to Prince Harry on May 19 will be one of the most guarded events at Windsor Castle. The couple and their guests will be protected by a unit of 30 SAS soldiers.