According to state officials, Prince William, second in line to the British throne, went on a short secret visit to Afghanistan on Sunday.

The prince flew a C-17 Globemaster military transport plane which took off from Royal Air Force Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire. After about three hours of discussions with the frontline British troops and service personal, he traveled to Ubeid Air Base in Qatar for two hours and then returned home.

William received his RAF pilot’s wings a few weeks ago from his father, Prince Charles, after four months of intense training with the Air Forces. He has been roughly criticized by the media for using a military helicopter to attend a bachelor party.

 “The purpose of the trip was for the prince to familiarize himself with the operations of the RAF in theatre," a spokesman said according to the Washington Post, adding that the 30-hour trip passed without any kind of complication.

On his trip back he accompanied the body of a British soldier killed on duty and also met Robert Pearson’s relatives. Trooper Pearson died on April 21 when his vehicle hit a mine.

William’s younger brother, Harry, served on the front Afghan line for ten weeks before his tour of duty got cut short due to some security issues.

Publicist Max Clifford said the whole event was a "good publicity exercise", but Clarence House said the trip was organized to help William familiarize with the armed forces as he is preparing for his future leading role and also head of the military.