TV DOCUMENTARY IMAGINES PRINCE HARRY KIDNAPPED BY TALIBAN

Plans by Britain’s Channel 4 to air what was described as a “dramatized documentary” on Oct. 21 about what might happen if Prince Harry were ever kidnapped by Arab terrorists have touched off an angry debate in the U.K. At Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles and his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, an official spokesman said, “Speculating about the security of Prince Harry, both as a serving member of the Armed Forces and a senior member of the Royal Family, is unhelpful.” A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense was more blunt, saying, “The depiction, fictional or otherwise, of a member of the Armed Forces being taken hostage and mistreated is deeply distasteful.” Prince Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, served 10 weeks in Afghanistan until his cover was blown by Matt Drudge on the Internet in 2007. In the 90-minute film, he is seen with a Taliban terrorist who holds a gun to his face, then pulls the trigger, revealing that the gun is unloaded.