Prince Harry current events 19: 6 November 2007 - 8 July 2008

[Warren]

Arms of HRH Prince Harry of Wales

Welcome to the Prince Harry current events thread, part 19

commencing 6 November 2007

Part 18, covering the period June to November 2007 can be found here

[Skydragon]

No charges against Prince Harry

Prince Harry will not face charges in connection with the alleged shooting of two protected hen harriers on the royal family's estate in Norfolk

BBC NEWS | England | Norfolk | No charges against Prince Harry

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Is anyone surprised, I doubt it!

[Royal Fan]

Im not Surprised (but also thiink he wasnt the won who shot it ) :)

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

No charges against Prince Harry
BBC NEWS | England | Norfolk | No charges against Prince Harry

I'm not surprised either because it never seemed like the police had a lot of solid evidence with which to go forward. Unfortunately, it is likely to become a cold case file. That the warden was monitoring the birds suggests there was an attempt to breed them in the area. But there may be a positive outcome after all. The conservation group might monitor the area more carefully, and Prince Harry might borrow some birds' picture books from that wonderful library I know they have at Sandringham; who knows, it might even be his first foray into a library in many years, since his A Levels or something.

[Skydragon]

Two hen harriers dead, one prince questioned, no charges

Police not seeking anyone else over killings
'Fact that bodies could not be found is disappointing'

Two hen harriers dead, one prince questioned, no charges | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Amazing, 2 dead protected birds, one shooting party in the area and nobody charged - shameful!

[susan alicia]

yes, I do not think that justice has been done wonder if there any good commentaries in newspapers about this case. Hope someone gave him an earfull, his father and grandmother for instance.
Prince Harry not charged over shot rare birds - Telegraph

A spokesman for the RSPB said: "We are very disappointed that nobody is going to be brought to book for this particular crime. It's yet another two hen harriers that have been shot illegally with nobody being brought to book.
"We regard the persecution of hen harriers as one of the most serious wildlife crimes. There are 20 pairs in England and it is one of the country's rarest birds of prey.
"We remain concerned no-one has been prosecuted."

[chrissy57]

I agree that it is shameful but it would be equally shameful to prosecute someone who didn't do it just because he is a Prince.

Without the carcasses it would be virtually impossible to successfully prosecute anyone as their isn't enough evidence to show which gun/s made the fatal shots.

If their is enough evidence (and I am assuming with my comment above that we have been given all the evidence that the police and investigators actually have) then prosecutions should be brought against whoever shot the birds, regardless of their title.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Yes, I agree with chrissy. It would be very bad to charge someone just for the sake of being seen to take action. Many times public people like Harry find the police make an example of them and charge them just because it makes the police look like they are doing something. So it's a dangerous and questionable issue. If anyone is charged, there must be good and solid proof against them. Don't have the police do a Cornelius Fudge and put a Hagrid in Azkaban just to be seen to be doing something.... They do that a lot, everywhere, and it's horrible.

[milla Ca]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

Amazing, 2 dead protected birds, one shooting party in the area and nobody charged - shameful!

I totally agree, it´s a shame!

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Yes, I agree with chrissy. It would be very bad to charge someone just for the sake of being seen to take action. Many times public people like Harry find the police make an example of them and charge them just because it makes the police look like they are doing something.

To me the fact that 2 endangered birds were seen to be shot and upon checking who was in the area that day, the only people were Harry and his friend, accompanied by a gamekeeper.

If it had been good old Joe Nobody, there would have been a full and complete investigation, (rather than the 'did you do it, no, oh OK then off you go') and then with or without the carcases he would probably have been charged. For the police to question Harry as an official suspect, they must have been pretty sure he was involved ("Prince Harry, third in line to the throne, had been interviewed as an official suspect by police, along with William van Cutsem, 28, a family friend, and David Clarke, 58, a Sandringham gamekeeper). I wonder if they took his fingerprints and DNA as they would a 'normal' suspect, I think not.

Hen Harriers are persecuted on many shooting estates because they are believed to eat the chicks and adults of the birds the 'sportsmen and women' want to shoot for fun. It is not a case of blaming Harry because of who he is, it's because he and his friend and gamekeeper were shooting in the area at the exact time these birds were shot.

[kpusa1981]

Even, without the carcases and any spent shot gun shells? I also believe that there must have been more beined themnot chargeingany one with anything. Besides without the carcaseshow can they be sure that the birds wre shot at just because Three people said they saw them being shot. They did not even find anywounded Hen Harriers did they?

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by kpusa1981

Besides without the carcaseshow can they be sure that the birds wre shot at just because Three people said they saw them being shot. They did not even find anywounded Hen Harriers did they?

The people concerned were watching the spectacle of these two rare birds in flight - "were witnessed by a staff member of Natural England, the government's conservation agency which runs the nature reserve, and two members of the public".
Prince Harry quizzed by police about shooting of rare birds | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
It is common practise, by people who shoot protected bird species, to bury or burn the carcases as quickly as possible. The fact that they were unable to find the carcases shows that it was a deliberate act of concealment by those involved in the shooting. What they don't realise is the biggest danger to the 'game bird' and it's chicks, is the people who shoot them for fun!

[Jo of Palatine]

I think it's suspicious as well. Don't they use trained dogs to retrieve the birds? Our dog trains at a Red Cross Rescue Dog Squadron to become a rescue dog and when I see how quick trained dogs are in finding the things they should, I guess a well-trained retriever dog is able to find the carcasses within minutes of them being shot. Don't they have retrievers at Sandringham? And of course, then the carcasses are gone for good, were probably before the police even arrived.

[kpusa1981]

Couldn't just as easily been that the members of Natural England reported something that did not happen since probably do not like hunting anyway and further more it would make Prince Harry and his hunting look like idiots for having shot endangered birds. The shot gun shell would prove nothing unless the police had found the dead birds since they were hunting with shot guns.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by kpusa1981

Couldn't just as easily been that the members of Natural England reported something that did not happen since probably do not like hunting anyway and further more it would make Prince Harry and his hunting look like idiots for having shot endangered birds.

So you think they managed to choose a day when Harry was once again not at work, (that had not been announced) and decided to invent a 'story' to make Harry look like an idiot? They could not have had any idea when they went out to watch the Hen Harriers that Harry and his friend would be out shooting and as for doing it to make Harry look an idiot, why on earth would they bother, he manages to do that on a regular basis himself, without any aid!

[milla Ca]

Originally Posted by kpusa1981

Couldn't just as easily been that the members of Natural England reported something that did not happen since probably do not like hunting anyway and further more it would make Prince Harry and his hunting look like idiots for having shot endangered birds. The shot gun shell would prove nothing unless the police had found the dead birds since they were hunting with shot guns.

We should see the facts, everything speaks for Harry and his friend as the hunters of these birds. I´m sure CH had given an official statement, if they were not guilty of doing that.
I´m sad to see Harry again making bad headlines, but i´m also sad that he will not be punished if his guilty. ( I only hope his father will teach him a lesson....)

[CasiraghiTrio]

Personally, I am suspicious too, but I always try to be positive and see the best side of things and people. The thing is, I believe Harry and his friend probably are guilty, but I also appreciate how things work, and one thing that never happens is someone like HRH Prince Harry being charged on merely circumstantial evidence. The lack of physical evidence is suspect, yes, but the fact remains, it doesn't exist, whether it was taken care of or not, it is not there to be used in a court of law. That being the case, there will not be any charges brought, and yes it is injustice and it's sad, but what can you do? That is the way the world works. When you are HRH Prince Harry, you have people to cover up whatever you do. I mean, we can complain.... we can write letters to people. We can say how unjust it is. But how can we change it?

[CasiraghiTrio]

Prince Harry has threatened to quit the Army after military bosses refused to send him to Afghanistan because of continued fears for his safety.


The Prince, a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, had been told there was a chance he could be posted to Afghanistan last month with C squadron, but he was banned from going just weeks before the troops departed.

The last-minute intervention was the second major blow for the Prince who was banned from going to Iraq with the Blues and Royals in May over fears he would be a terrorist target.

The Prince made clear in an interview following his training at Sandhurst that he wanted to fight with his men on the front line.

Source: "Prince Harry: Send me to Afghanistan or I quit army," The Daily Mail, 10 November 2007

After a week of twiddling his thumbs at his Windsor barracks, Harry was back in London for another night out on Friday - with a young brunette who was a dead-ringer for his old acquaintance Natalie Pinkham.

The Prince partied until the early hours of Saturday at Amika nightclub in Kensington with a group of five friends. Harry, who was overheard boasting that he planned to get "as drunk as possible", ran up a £2,500 bar bill over the course of two hours and knocked back passionfruit vodka shots.

With girlfriend Chelsy Davy absent, he spent most of the night chatting to the mystery brunette, who bore an uncanny resemblance to TV presenter Miss Pinkham, who has enjoyed a number of nights out with Harry and was once pictured in an embrace with him before he met Chelsy.

Source: Kay, Nathan: "Harry spends night on the town with mystery brunette," The Daily Mail, 10 November 2007
I wonder if this Nathan Kay is related to Richard.

[CasiraghiTrio]

In a case that could have flown straight from a CSI episode, British prosecutors have said they will not charge Prince Harry in the shooting deaths of two rare birds – because they can't find the bodies.

"The bodies of the hen harriers have not been found and there is no forensic or ballistic evidence," the Norfolk Crown Prosecution Service admitted in a statement to PEOPLE.
Last month the prince ruffled many feathers in the British media who reveled in him being questioned over the incident at Sandringham, a royal country estate. Two witnesses said they heard gunshots before seeing two hen harriers – protected birds of prey – plummet out of the sky.

Prince Harry, 23, and a friend were nearby at the time of the shooting but a royal spokesperson told PEOPLE the prince was not involved in the incident.

Source: Prince Harry Cleared in Bird Shooting Incident, (US) People magazine, 7 November 2007

We need to talk about Harry. Knocking back a bottle of vodka while drunken rugby players egg you on is not a good look. Nor is being snapped sprawled in the gutter outside a night club after an altercation with the paparazzi. And to be interviewed by the police, as he was last week, following the slaughter of two birds of prey can only heap more shame on the House of Windsor.

Just how low can this prince of the realm sink? When will he face up to the responsibilities incurred by his position? Shouldn't his father… I could go on like so many do but I won't.

I cannot join in with the pursed-lip snipers who take aim at Prince Harry on a regular basis and who, with every utterance, betray their class prejudice and latent republicanism (although I have some sympathy with the class prejudice and the republicanism)....

Read More: Hunt, Liz: "Something about Prince Harry ... that I like," The Daily Telegraph 4 November 2007

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Hunt, Liz: "Something about Prince Harry ... that I like," The Daily Telegraph 4 November 2007

Liz Hunt