BY ROYAL appointment

STEVE BACKSHALL on discovering how the Canadian Arctic has changed 50 years on from King Charles' famous expedition

- WORDS: HANNAH DAVIES. PHOTOS: GETTY, ITV

STEVE BACKSHALL'S ROYAL ARCTIC CHALLENGE

NEW THURSDAY, 8.30PM, ITV1 FACTUAL

April 1975 saw the then-Prince Charles embark on what would become an historic 11-day visit to the Canadian Arctic. The epic adventure, which saw Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son take part in extreme activities and learn about the way of life for the local Inuit communities, had such an impact on the 26-year-old royal that it ended up shaping his lifelong passion for the environment and his belief in the importance of living in harmony with nature.

Now, 50 years on, explorer Steve Backshall is following in the now-King Charles' footsteps in a new ITV1 documentary. Steve Backshall's Royal Arctic Challenge will see him explore the effects of climate change on the vast region as well as look at how the wildlife and the people who call it home are adapting.

'The Arctic is an extraordinary place,' says the naturalist, 52. 'It's incredibly beautiful. It can be brutal and it's somewhere where, as a human being, you feel very, very small. But it's changing faster than anywhere else on Earth, and is also warming three times faster than anywhere else on the planet.'