Prince of Wales speaks of worry over Harry as he praises courageous troops abroad He thanked the servicemen and women for their relentless courage and said the nation owed them "an everlasting debt of gratitude." All those stationed abroad were very much in his thoughts and prayers, he said. He said: "With two sons currently serving in the Armed Forces, one of whom is with you all out there, I really do have at least some understanding of what your loved ones on the "home front" are going through. They are clearly missing you deeply, particularly at this time of year, and they are constantly thinking and worrying about you. I daresay in some ways it may be slightly easier for those serving away from home, with their mind on the job in hand, than those left behind, because of the constant worry. He said there is some consolation with the "occasional opportunities" for families to speak to loved ones on telephone, through the internet or E-blueys, adding: "Or, in the case of my younger son, to receive a very rare and precious letter in answer to mine! And don't forget that a letter will one day be a very valuable historical document, treasured by families and by those who come after us. The Prince said: "I also wanted to pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution made by those of you who belong to our Armed Forces, in all sorts of different parts of the world. Nowhere is your fortitude and relentless courage more clearly on display than in Afghanistan, where your resilience, patience and determination to see the job through - usually in impossibly difficult conditions and circumstances - is, quite simply, humbling. Christmas broadcasts to British troops serving abroad have been made by the Queen in the past. Her last message was recorded in 2006. The Prince is Colonel-in-Chief of a number of regiments serving in Afghanistan and he said he knew about the hardships troops face because of the regular reports from his units. He said: "I am well aware of the discomfort and privations you all endure with seemingly endless reserves of good humour. In addition to the intense heat and dust of the summer and the freezing winters, you face the constant, terrifying threat of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), attacks from rockets, grenades and small arms fire almost every day - and sometimes these attacks come from infiltrators hidden among those who are supposed to be working alongside you as allies. And yet you all seem to bounce back in an almost unbelievable way, despite the setbacks and vicious insurgent attacks. Charles is Colonel-in-Chief of four military units which have troops serving in Afghanistan at the moment - The Royal Dragoon Guards, Army Air Corps, The Royal Gurkha Rifles and The Mercian Regiment. In a picture released today to accompany the broadcast, the Prince is shown sitting at a table with a microphone in front of him and on the left lapel of his suit he wears four military badges. Charles ended his broadcast by saying: "Finally, I would just like to reinforce a point that I have been trying to make for many years now - that our country is incredibly lucky to have people like yourselves and that we owe you an everlasting debt of gratitude for all that you do and mean to us."