CHESHIRE soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan had a break from their training this week to meet HRH The Prince of Wales.

The troops, from 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), are currently on their Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

And on Monday, Prince Charles visited more than 300 soldiers at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Edinburgh and Patrol Base (PB) Minden, Germany.

The soldiers were wearing their oakleaves behind the capbadges on their berets in traditional honour of the royal visit, a custom that goes back to 1743.

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Hadfield said: “This visit is very important for us as we prepare for deployment to Afghanistan and to have HRH The Earl of Chester come and visit us is an honour, but also of great importance to the soldiers of the battalion.

“As our colonel-in-chief, he is very involved in the life of the battalion and the lives of our soldiers. We feel privileged that he was able to give up his time.”

A spokesman from Clarence House added: “HRH The Prince of Wales is a huge supporter of the troops. He appreciates the commitment that our soldiers make and the impact that inevitably that commitment has on their families. He has great respect for the work that is done by our armed forces and he enjoys the opportunity to visit them. He was delighted to be able to visit service personnel to witness their training in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan.”

Private Craig Bird, 22, from Ellesmere Port, said: “It’s really good that HRH the Prince of Wales comes down and sees the lads training, it shows his support of the regiment and the Army as a whole. It was a really good visit; he asked about our role out in Afghanistan and how the training here prepares us for it.”

Liam Varley, 31, from Elton, added: “It’s important for royalty to visit because people look up royalty and if they see royalty taking the time to visit the troops then hopefully it will get us more support from the wider public and give them more of an insight of what we do”.

Prince Charles then proceeded to meet soldiers on sentry in one of the sangars guarding the FOB.