RICHARD EDEN: Prince Harry’s plan to swap rifles for lasers in ‘woke’ Invictus move misses the target

The Duke of Sussex’s friend, Dr Jane Goodall , predicted in 2020 that Harry would stop shooting “because Meghan doesn’t like hunting, so I suspect that is over for him”.

He hasn’t been seen with a gun since.

Now, shooting appears to be over for contestants at his Invictus Games as well.

I hear that, in a “woke” move, organisers of the tournament in Canada next month have replaced rifles with lasers in the biathlon, which combines Nordic skiing with target shooting.

However, the move appears to have backfired, with participants claiming that Harry, founding patron of Invictus, and his colleagues have failed to realise that the lasers don’t always work in the snow.

The competition will be held at Whistler ski resort.

US army veteran Christopher Bryde says: “We had a couple of issues with the cold and some of the (laser) guns just not working. Also, snow seemed to obstruct some of the targets.”

Bryde, who lost both legs below the knee after he was wounded by a bomb in Afghanistan, explains to Fieldsports Channel: “For example, I shot perfectly for five laps and then in one lap I only hit one target. We checked out the gun and there was a bit of snow covering the laser thing [lens].”

Harry created the Invictus Games for injured and sick service personnel in 2014 and this will be the first tournament to feature winter sports.

He and Meghan visited Whistler last February to see how preparations for the nine day tournament were going.

A spokesman for the Invictus Foundation tells me: “The principal reason for the lasers is inclusivity. (They) can be used by a wide range of those with disabilities.”

On the issue of snow blocking the lasers, the spokesman insists: “That wouldn’t be the case, as there would be officials on site ensuring readiness for the rifles.”