Scouts' Kate Middleton Kidnapping Exercise Draws Outrage

Feb. 12, 2011— -- A U.K. scout troop's staged kidnapping of an actress playing Kate Middleton has outraged British councilors and local royal watchers.

Some 300 children between the ages of 11 and 15 took part in the map-reading exercise, which was organized by the 2nd Amersham Common Scouts, according to the Daily Telegraph.

During the exercise, an actor playing Prince William asked scouts to help him locate his bride-to-be after she was "kidnapped" by a pretend terror group, the paper reported.

The Daily Telegraph quoted Amersham Town Council member Ros Aitken, who was angry with the simulation.

"I'm horrified that something like this has taken place," Aitken told the newspaper. "I did not know anything about it, but it does sound inappropriate."

Brian Shelley, the organizer of the event, disagreed.

"The scouts loved it and found it very amusing. Nobody raised any concerns on the day, so I'm surprised to hear if there were any," Shelley said, according to the Telegraph.

Earlier this week, Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Cornwall were seen sharing an intimate meal at Koffman's, a new restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel in the Knightsbridge section of London.

The Daily Mail also reported this week that Sir David Manning will be giving Prince William's fiancee lessons ranging from "foreign affairs to the protocol attached to being the wife of the future king."

Manning was one of the key foreign policy advisors to former Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2003 and served as Britain's ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007.

Middleton and Prince William have set their wedding date for April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London.