Operation 'Berry': how the special services planned to catch Kate Middleton in the event of an escape from the wedding
'29.05.2021'
Source: Newsru
It turns out that the British special services seriously (and to the smallest details) considered the plan to catch Kate, if she decides to flee from under the crown, tells Newsru. True, it is not known whether a similar plan existed for Megan. The details of the operation are very piquant - are we curious?
The plan was called Operation Berry. In the event of escape, hundreds of intelligence agents had to urgently switch from keeping watch at their posts to forming a guard cordon around the fugitive bride. As Catherine ran away from the altar, the guards were not required to hinder the prince from trying to catch up and restrain her.
Of course, this is a nightmare option, a senior MI5 source admitted. “But all possible circumstances had to be planned. Let's face it, it wasn't that unlikely, right? So, of course, we had to get together with the representatives of Clarence House (Prince Charles) and work out some kind of solution, ”he said.
The negotiations went on for a long time and in conditions of increased secrecy. On the one hand, they were attended by employees of Clarence House, on the other - officers of the city police, MI5 and the army. In the end, they reached a compromise.
“They wanted us to just stop her from escaping, but we answered: you must be kidding? In the United Kingdom, in front of millions of witnesses? No way, ”the source continued.
“So we said: listen, if she starts to run, we’ll have to immediately take her out ... maybe a helicopter from the roof, then provide her with a new name and documents, but young Bill will have to celebrate his honeymoon alone,” an MI5 spokesman said. ...
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But, he noted, the royal family did not like this plan. They reluctantly agreed to let Catherine Middleton run. But at the same time they insisted that it was not necessary to immediately take it away by car or by helicopter: let them run at least a short distance on their legs. After all, then the prince will be able to catch up with her and, perhaps, persuade her to return to the altar.
“But this point of the plan caused difficulties. Now, imagine, she runs out of Westminster Abbey, crowds are everywhere, and he chases her. Our task is so that she can run, and he can catch up. It's a nightmare, ”the security officer admitted.
So, if the operation is activated, Miss Middleton will be allowed to run out of the abbey, accompanied by bodyguards who will accompany her at a respectful distance. Police officers, officers of MI5 and SAS in civilian clothes, who are present in the crowd, will form a mobile shock wedge on its way to clear the runaway's road.
As for Prince William, he will have little time left. For some time, the space behind the bride’s back will be open to him so that he can rush for Katherine, but after this time, the ranks of security officers will join the border of the Abbey’s territory: there will not be enough guards to provide more room for maneuver. If their ranks close in front of the prince, he will not be able to catch up with his bride, the authors of the plan admitted.
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It was the length of time that would be allotted to the prince to decide whether to pursue the fugitive bride or not that became a stumbling block in the negotiations between his father's employees and the security forces. In the end, it was decided that the prince would be able to make a decision until the distance between him and the bride reached about 800 meters. However, Clarence House wanted to beg twice the distance for the groom.
However, it was decided that if the prince cannot intercept the fugitive bride, the guards will consider that reconciliation and return to the altar is impossible, so the fugitive will be seated in a specially prepared taxi, driven by an SAS operative. To make the taxi ride smooth, the cab will be accompanied by several police cars, which, as if by accident, will approach and form a protective cordon around the fugitive's car.
But if William catches up with Katherine, he will be allowed to make an attempt to return the bride to the altar. But in this case the time factor is important.
“We made Clarence House cut this scene down by a few minutes by agreeing to put a few dummy spectators in the crowd who would shout, 'Well, honey, kiss him!' convincing the fugitive to return to the altar, ”said the informant.
The members of the royal family, of course, hoped that Operation Berry would not be necessary, but they realized that if the bride tried to escape from the crown, the rating of the wedding on television would become even higher.
But in the American magazine Time asked the question: why would Catherine, who had been waiting for a proposal from the prince for so many years, to run away from under the aisle? “We suspect that if the bride decided to run away, it would be because of the title of duchess assigned to her. Spend so much time and effort, but not become a princess? We would have run away in her place, ”commentators of the American magazine note.
