Steve Backshall retraces King’s Arctic steps 50 years on in documentary

Adventurer Steve Backshall has retraced the King’s steps from his 1975 trip to the Canadian Arctic exactly 50 years on.

The trip, filmed for a feature-length documentary to be aired on ITV, looks at the accelerating impact of climate change on the Arctic and the work being done now that aims to secure a healthy future for the planet.

The King’s 1975 trip to the Canadian Arctic took in dog sledding and a dive beneath the ice, as well as learning about the local Inuit people’s culture and dependence on the environment around them.

The trip helped shape his lifelong passion for the environment and his belief in the importance of living in harmony with nature.

The film, due to be shown as part of ITV’s Christmas schedule, will include a discussion with Charles about the impact of climate change.

Speaking about the project, Backshall said: “To see the Arctic through the King’s eyes – then and now – was both inspiring and sobering.

“Standing where the King once stood, diving beneath the same Arctic ice he explored half a century ago, was humbling beyond words.

“His Majesty was raising the alarm for the natural world long before most of us realised how urgent that call would become.

“His commitment to protecting our planet runs through every fibre of this story.”

Director Marshall Corwin said: “It has been a real privilege – and eye-opener – seeing His Majesty the King as never before: his extreme spirit of adventure, his genuine passion for the planet, and his mischievous sense of humour.”