Shotgun owners should be made to register an idendification code for their amunition. When an owner goes to buy more amunition, they should have to provide the "smart water" (the stuff used to trace stolen cars & bikes parts) to the contents of the shells. It should then be easy to identify who shot what, and, would help police when shotguns are used in other crimes.

W Smith, Oldham,

Having been involved with the protection and monitoring of Hen Harriers on their breeding area's in the Northumberland uplands for the past two years I was gutted to hear this news.
Whoever killed these birds should be held to account,however the fact that it happened on a royal estate probably means the incedent will be hushed up at the first opportunity.
The Hen Harriers chances of survival in their first year are around 50% due to natural causes, human interference on the breeding areas can cause a 100% failure rate in some areas.

pat martin, tyneside,

if he didn't do it why haven't they coughed up the birds with the shot in them to prove the bullets didn't come from Harry's gun?
come on people, the Queen's men have disappeared the bird carcasses....

John Smith, Boston, USA

Well I've read alot about the shooting of a rare bird and complaints about the royal family. I live in the United States. and from my view point. Vacationers come to see the castles and take pictures of and with the royals. People sell pictures and books for thousands of dollars of the two boys. especially Harry. Well they may be a sore spot for some, but they bring in alot of money to Britain. And I'm not a hunter. So why can't the ammo be tested for prints. I'll stand in defense of any person who is not a wildlife expert. Grandma is in the RSBP club; not Harry. How many of you complaining could tell one bird from another. I would be disappointed that Prince Charles didn't say to his son that if you lie it only makes it worst. Prince Charles doesn't seem to take much intrest in Harry as he does William. There is one photo of the boys, Diana and Charles and Harry is off to the side alone. Left without his mother harry raised himself.

Pia Williams, Benton Township, USA

Oh dear! Richard Banks seems to have carefully considered all the evidence and found Price Harry guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. He does not seem to value the British legal system of the concept of "innocent until proven guilty". He also wants to live in a republic.

Richard would apparently feel more at home by emigrating now to any of the numerous republics (some claiming to be democratic) that dispense harsh summary justice. He could even go to Iraq!

Britain is great! So is our constitutional monarchy!

John Wilkins, Minehead, Somerset

Well, obviously it's him. If he didn't do it, that de facto implies that there was someone else out there with a gun near the prince. You'd think we'd haev heard of the security alerts by now...

Paul Morris, London, UK

I was under the impression that Prince Harry was a member of his mothers armed forces. How come he has time off mid-week to go shooting (or anything else for that matter)?

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Dave-G of Leicester should refrain from 'gobbing off' until he learns english grammar.
The correct phrase is "Hanged, drawn and quartered.

Nubbin, London,

No your right Dave- g Bullets are not used to kill birds in flight, cartridges from shotguns are tho!!

Jimmy, Glos, glos

You can´t get the police to investigate a break in, and there´s scarce police presence in most town centres when the chavs are out at night, but they have time to waste investigating this "case". What a disgrace.

Dave, Colchester,

I don't believe a word of Prince Harry's version of events - as a gesture of regret at the untimely demise of these rare birds he should take public steps to re-introducing hen harriers to the Sandrinham estate - natural attrition of the pheasants by harriers would make barely a dent in the pheasant population, and would serve to improve the pheasant species there!

Chris Robinson, Hong Kong.,

As a birdwatcher, I am disgusted. Take the gun licence of the irresponsible fool Oh yes, keep him away from any guns in the army for everyones sake.

witheld, chester,

They have no knowledge of the incident. Hmm, odd that they just happened to be in the area at the time...

Phillip Anderton, Poole, England

Sadly Dave G of Leicester does have a point. You usually don't use a bullet to shoot birds in flight. It would be more difficult to check Harry's ammo against that found in the bird. However, if it were you or I in the frame they would now be checking the molecular build-up of the lead shot and comparing that to our ammo. Instead, in Harry's case, oh no that's an impossible test to make positive results from. He couldn't possibly have done that... oh no no.
But what's more to the point, how many underlings would be allowed to carry a gun, any gun, within the shooting range of a shot gun on the Sandringham Estate near Prince Harry? None. Shot guns, I understand, are only really effective up to a range of around 50-100yards. Even at 200 yards Prince Harry would have known that the "other person" was around and would have known it was they who shot the birds.
Unlucky Harry... be a man and face up to your crimes.

Richard Walton, Milton Keynes,

"Unfortunately, they have no knowledge of the alleged incident.” Odd that they just happened to be mooching around the area at the time... An outright disgrace!

Phillip Anderton, Poole, England

How can the senior royal family STILL be so out of step with the people it is their only raison d'etre to rule ?

Recently we had a young couple, probably our next King and Queen, out killing wildlife that their subjects are happier watching on nature and conservation programmes. And a young prince who claims innocence, but fails to deplore publicly the shooting of a pair of endangered hen harriers which his subjects have worked hard to protect. The princes' mother found the strength of conviction to avoid such pastimes, so it can't inevitably be upper class upbringing.

The Royals alienate themselves, and erode the Monarchy far more than we could ever do. Irrelevant. Arrogant. And, if they're not careful, obsolete.

HPK, Thatcham, UK

Have you people heard the expression "innocent until proven guilty"? It's only the cornerstone of democracy. People seem all to eager to believe any negative thing said about the royals, without considering the source. The Royal Family is not perfect, most of them are not even that interesting, but since they're in the news, everyone feels free to ascribe every possible nefarious attribute to them. If Prince Harry killed those birds, or if his friend did (remember, there were actually 2 people shooting at the time), he should pay the penalty, including jail time. If he didn't, then people should admit they were wrong. Unfortunately, people who usually point fingers in situations like this are usually those who are least likely to admit when they are wrong. When you "assume", you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me. Remember that.

Sarah, Ottawa, ON, Canada

With only 22 pairs in the country the shooting of these two glorious birds is a national disgrace.

Given that the Queen is Patron of the RSPB and the Royals like to promote themselves as conservationists then if Harry is involved he should be made to answer for his actions. Under English law this is a prosecutable offence and that Law applies to all of us.

Harry and William are supposed to be serving officers in the armed forces. Are either ever on duty? They seem to spend all their time attending sporting events, going to parties to celebrate sporting events or being photographed draped around scantily-clad drunken females falling out of nightclubs into the gutter. (How old are they?)

Let Harry be deployed abroad as we're told he wishes to be, let him take his equally able gun-totting brother with him and let them leave the real conservation to the rest of us who really do care about it.

G. Wrightson, Barton on Humber, England

Surely this has to be an easy crime to solve, I can't believe that there are many unknown strangers, armed with guns in the proximity of a major royal!

Andy, Milford on Sea,

With reference to Richard’s comments made earlier.. If Harry were allowed to be in Iraq then he would be, he is not allowed so he is not out there. I'm sure no one is more disappointed about this fact than he, that is why he joined the army.

I'm sure the police value your insightful advice with regard to “checking the bullets”, rather doubting they will find “a bullet” though..

Finally, I feel that anyone who thinks the royals “have fun” at the expense of the country are insane. Referring as I am to the fact that I would not have my life scrutinised as they do, while carrying out state duties for the good of our nation for their entire lives, for all the tea in China. That’s a lot of tea Richard.

Charlie Cam, London, UK

what the hell has it got to do with you Rddavar from India??
Leave Harry alone...if he shot the birds, then he should probably pay the fine and get a telling off from his Granny. We have to keep the Royal Family ... England would be a gigantic legoland without them. Why does everyone want Royals to behave well? Royals never, in the history of England, behaved well . They invented bad behaviour of the foulest kind...beheading wives, removing enemies at whim, thats how they managed to get to where they are.... Ours are pretty well behaved nowadays by comparison. There are a lot of other people I would get rid of first who behave very badly and aren't even the slightest bit glamorous or entertaining!

maddison, london, england

God help us when the Queen passes on. The rest of them are rubbish!

David, Poole,

Frankly I can see the slow decline of the royal family after the demise of Ann, Charles, Andrew & Edward

Philip M, Hadleigh, UK - Suffolk

It takes a pratt to know a pratt - "bullets" are not used to shoot birds in flight. Numpties like you should be hung drawn and quartered for gobbing off when they have no knowledge about what they are gobbing at :-)

Little wonder this country is so against shooting. Still, when no englishmen know how to use a gun to defend the country our enemies will have an easy entry huh?

Dave-G, Leicester,

The present british royal family is a royal disgrace !
The British people will be better off ( and richer) without the lot of them.

rddavar, mumbai, india

I'd like to see the police check the bullets that killed the birds with those used by the prince. If they are a match, I'd like to see him face justice like anyone else caught doing such a horrible act. However, as we all know, the royal family is usually above the law and nothing will happen. Another example of the royals doing as they please, having "fun" at the expense of the country. Harry should be in Iraq shooting with his troops instead of shooting for leisure. A republic is looking better and better once the queen's reign is up and we are stuck with the rest of this lot!

Richard Banks, Newcastle, England