Royals P.O.ed with “The Taking of Prince Harry” Or Not.

It’s a great “what if” premise. What if the Taliban had captured Prince Harry during his semi-secret service with the Royal Army in Afghanistan? England’s Channel 4 (they don’t have many) explores the dramatic possibilities in The Taking of Prince Harry. It’s a 90-minute blend of interviews and imaginary re-enactments (go figure), including a mock execution with an unloaded gun. “The show, which will be broadcast on Thursday October 21 at 9pm, includes scenes where the Prince is confronted by a British-born radical Islamist and details how the British Government’s approach to hostage negotiations differs from other nations,” The Telegraph reports . . .

According to Channel 4’s head of documentaries, “In the film we mentioned that his nickname when he was there last was ‘Bullet Magnet’ and we know that there were quite a lot of reports and stories of jihadi websites saying he should be the number one target.” Hamish Mykura, reckons the film dealt with a “timely” subject in an appropriate and responsible manner.

Not entirely unsurprisingly, the Royal family disagrees. Or not. But the media wants the United Kingdom’s imported German monarchy to be enervated, so speculation replaces reportage. “The Queen and Prince Charles will be very upset by the programme and much of the nation outraged,” the Daily Mail suggests. But they will be watching James Hewitt’s boy suffer at the hand of the Taliban in fictional form.