Hexworthy adventurer Pen Hadow was yesterday due to meet with Prince Charles before his expedition to measure the thickness of the Arctic Ocean's sea ice.
The Prince of Wales is patron of the Catlin Arctic Survey and Mr Hadow, together with team members Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley, were due at Clarence House for a farewell reception and to be presented with a specially-commissioned pennant to carry to the Geographic North Pole.
Speaking about the royal appointment Mr hadow said: 'This is a real privilege for the Catlin Arctic Survey team. There has been a tradition for the royal family to present an expedition team with a pennant and Ernest Shackleton carried a special pennant given to him by Queen Alexandra a century ago.'
On their gruelling three-month, 1,000km journey the team will face temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Each will drag a sledge weighing up to 120 kilos and face up to 150 hours swimming.
The pioneering survey, which starts from northern Canada around February 27, is a collaboration with scientists, including Professor Wieslaw Maslowski from the US Navy's Department of Oceanography, to more assess the state of the sea ice in a fragile region already affected by global warming.
The prince became patron of the project last year and has been given regular updates about the expedition.
The next time the prince and the Catlin Arctic Survey team are scheduled to 'meet' is Friday, May 1, for the prince's May Day business summit on climate change.
Mr hadow will broadcast via a video link-up from the Arctic.
The team's progress is set to be monitored via the online mapping system, Google Earth.
Later this month its 500 million users will be able to access the new Ocean facility, where information from the exploration team as well as photos and video will be displayed.
Speaking about the development Mr Hadow said: 'My passion for the Arctic Ocean is matched only by the urgency of our need to understand how it works within the global Earth system.
'Ocean in Google Earth will enable a global audience to follow the progress and findings of the Catlin Arctic Survey.'