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Prince Charles met with British troops to thank them for their service on an unannounced trip to Afghanistan Thursday.

Prince Charles, left, talks with Guardsman Paul Jackson during a surprise visit to Patrol Base Pimon in Afghanistan on Thursday. (Maj. Paul Smyth/Associated Press)

The trip has been a closely guarded secret for some time and was heavily guarded at all points.

With a phalanx of troops on foot surrounding him and an armada of helicopters watching from the air, the prince, wearing military fatigues, laid a wreath at a war memorial and visited a local hospital where British soldiers are receiving care.

He also travelled by helicopter to a remote British army camp in Helmand Province where a major offensive against the Taliban is underway, the BBC reported Thursday.

Speaking from the garden of the British Embassy in Kabul, the prince paid tribute to the "extraordinary courage" of British soldiers in active duty in the country.

"It's a great joy to be able to get here and to see some of you at least who I know do so much unbelievable work here in Kabul and indeed beyond and if I may say so I have nothing but the most unbounded admiration for all the efforts you make," he was quoted as saying.

It was his fourth attempt to visit the country, after previous attempts had been called off for security concerns.

Both of his sons have visited the country, with younger son Harry having secretly been deployed in the southern portion of the country on active duty for 10 weeks in 2007 and 2008.

A voluntary media blackout at the time kept that visit secret, too, because of security concerns.

Charles recalled how much he worried as a parent the entire time Harry was deployed. Troops can keep themselves busy in the field, but for the relatives left behind, it's "ghastly," he said.

Britain has lost 276 troops since the war began.