Prince Charles pays tribute to killed officer

LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles paid tribute on Friday to Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the highest-ranking British officer killed in Afghanistan.

Charles said he was "mortified" by the death of Thorneloe, 40, who was killed with another British soldier, Trooper Joshua Hammond, when a bomb exploded under his armoured vehicle in the southern province of Helmand on Wednesday.

Thorneloe was the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, where Charles has been colonel-in-chief for 34 years.

"Having been to visit the Welsh Guards at Aldershot before they left to go out to Afghanistan, met a whole lot of the families and of course Colonel Rupert's wife, I can tell you my heart is very much with them," Charles told reporters during a visit to Cornwall.

"As you can imagine, the shock and horror that has affected the whole of the regiment family was quite dramatic.

"I was horrified to say the least at both the deaths, Trooper Hammond as well."

The last British officer of a similar rank to Thorneloe to die in combat was Wing Commander John Coxen, killed in a helicopter crash in Basra, southern Iraq, in May 2006.

Thorneloe was the most senior British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since Britain joined the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Charles said Thorneloe was a "terrifically inspiring person."