Tributes to the most senior British officer to be killed in action since the Falklands War have flooded in from the highest levels.

Tributes to the most senior British officer to be killed in action since the Falklands War have flooded in from the highest levels.

Prince Charles spoke of the "heartbreaking" death of Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe in Afghanistan, while Gordon Brown said the whole country would mourn his loss.

Lt Col Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in a blast that hit his Viking armoured vehicle in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Wednesday. Trooper Joshua Hammond, aged 18, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, also died in the explosion.

The Prince, who is colonel-in-chief of Lt Col Thorneloe's regiment and knew the officer, paid tribute during a visit to Cornwall. He said he had been "mortified" when he heard of the deaths.

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

"Having been to visit the Welsh Guards at Aldershot before they left to go to Afghanistan, having met the families and having met Col Rupert's wife, my heart is very much with them.

"It's completely heartbreaking. The whole battalion is suffering.

"To lose a commanding officer who was such an inspiring person is an awful tragedy."

The Prime Minister, speaking on a visit to the Christie Hospital in Manchester, said: "I think the whole country will be mourning today the deaths of Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe and Trooper Joshua Hammond.

"They were very professional soldiers. They were serving in Afghanistan in the most difficult terrain.

"Lt Col Thorneloe was someone I know, someone I worked with, someone I admired."

According to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, the "born soldier" believed in the UK's mission in Afghanistan and was "destined for greatness".

Mr Ainsworth said: "It'll have quite an impact on the men who work directly under him and they really will be going through it, having lost the boss, so people have got to lift them."

Lt Col Thorneloe spoke just weeks before his death of his belief that UK operations in Afghanistan were helping make the British public safer.

He told Real Radio: "I am sure that the mission here is the right thing to be doing in terms of providing for the security of the people back at home."

Lt Col Thorneloe was in charge of more than 1000 soldiers and assumed command of the 1st Battalion on October 28 last year after previously serving on operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq.

Speaking in February, a month before the 1st Battalion was deployed to Helmand, he said: "We are pretty well prepared but it will be a challenging tour, and the biggest challenge will be to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people."

Lt Col Thorneloe is one of only eight army commanding officers who have died on operations in command of their units since 1948, and the first since Lt Col Herbert H' Jones VC OBE was killed at Goose Green in the Falklands War on May 28, 1982.

Lt Col Jones's widow, Sara, said Lt Col Thorneloe's relatives should be "immensely proud" of him.

"He is a hero," she said. "He is a high-ranking officer but that does not mean he should not be with his troops. No senior officer should put their battalion anywhere that they would not be willing to go themselves."

Earlier, General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff, said the officer was at the "leading edge of his generation" and his death was "a devastating blow to the Welsh Guards Battle Group and to the Army as a whole".

Lt Col Thorneloe's widow, Sally, said the 39-year-old father-of-two from Kirtlington, Oxford, would be "sorely missed". She said she had lost her "very best friend" and added: "Our daughters Hannah and Sophie will have to grow up without their beloved daddy, although I will see a part of him in them every day."

Describing her husband as "a born soldier" and "an inspiration", she said: "I know he led from the front and would not have had it any other way. He cared deeply about his men, as he did about so many."

Colleagues in the UK said his death was a "devastating loss" but that morale remained high thanks to the close-knit community of the Welsh Guards. Major Dai Bevan, the officer commanding the battalion in Britain, said: "Colonel Rupert was an outstanding man and an officer with a very bright future. We in the Welsh Guards have lost one of our very finest."

The two soldiers' deaths took the number of UK servicemen and women who have died in Afghanistan since operations began in October 2001 to 171.

Attention was focused on why the men were travelling in a Viking vehicle. This was introduced into Afghanistan three years ago but last year the MoD admitted the vehicle had reached the limit of how much it could be armoured. It is due to be replaced by the new Warthog vehicle next year.

Rupert was my friend and I shall miss him
During my period as Secretary of State for Defence we lost too many brave men and women on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every single one filled me with immense sadness, just as the deaths of Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe and Tpr Josh Hammond have done.

Rupert worked with me for a year and, like every member in my private office, he was like family to me. It was truly a privilege to have known him. He will be deeply missed.

He gave his all to everything he did. He was a great soldier, a great commander and an exceptional man. His wise and knowledgeable counsel as a private secretary was invaluable to me. He passionately believed in what we are trying to achieve in Afghanistan, and his tremendous integrity was an inspiration for everyone around him.

More personally, he was my friend and I shall miss him. My heart goes out to Sally, his wife, and their two young children.
Des Browne is the former Secretary of State for Defence.