EXPLORER David Hempleman-Adams said he was “astonished” to find he had been made a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order just days before Christmas, calling it an “extraordinary honour”.

The 60-year-old, who is the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, receives the knighthood, a personal gift from the Queen, in recognition of his services to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.

David recently stepped down after 10 years as a trustee of the youth achievement programme after first becoming involved when he took his bronze award as a 14-year-old.

That initial trip to the Brecon Beacons was a “light bulb moment”, igniting a lifelong passion that led him to become the first person to complete the adventurers’ grand slam of climbing each continent’s highest mountain and reaching both the North and South Poles in 1998.

The adventurer and businessman said he came across the letter informing him of his honour among Christmas cards after coming home late one night from a function, including one that was stamped by Buckingham Palace.

He said: “I didn’t think anything of it and carried on reading the paper.

“After that I opened the Christmas cards and the royal card was last. To my astonishment it was a letter saying I would be given the KCVO in the New Year’s Honours list.

“It’s an extraordinary honour, and I will be forever in the Duke of Edinburgh’s debt. He has been incredibly kind to myself and my family over the years and this is simply the icing on the cake.

“The award is extremely rare and being a Swindon boy, I’m very proud. My family had no background in adventure and the DofE Award shows what an amazing country we have in that it gives young people the opportunity to do something different.”

Originally from Moredon, David has led more than 30 expeditions to the Arctic, became the first man to fly in solo in a hot-air balloon flight to the North Pole in 2000 - of which the Duke of Edinburgh was a patron - and set 42 FAI world flying records.

An industrialist by profession but an adventurer by preference, David lives in Box and has three daughters who have followed in his footsteps by taking the bronze, silver and gold DofE awards. He said the scheme had been the catalyst that set him on the path to his record-breaking endeavours.

He added: “The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life was the Duke of Edinburgh bronze. It was my first time away from home, the first time I shared a tent or saw the stars. It was a light bulb moment in my life.

“When I climbed Everest I was skilled and experienced, and the same with the Poles - it was just another day in the office - whereas that first time I went down across the Brecon Beacons I was very scared.

“It is an extraordinary scheme and I owe my life to it, really. It is much more than backpacking because it teaches young people new skills and it develops them in areas they might not ever think they are interested in.”

The DofE scheme celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and David’s latest accolade adds to the OBE and MBE he already holds as well as being Freeman of Swindon.