Henry Worsley: Prince William, David Beckham and Bear Grylls lead tributes to explorer

The explorer died after crossing 913 miles of the continent

The Duke of Cambridge and Henry Worsley (Getty Images )

The Duke of Cambridge has led tributes to the explorer Henry Worsley, who died on Sunday, during his attempt to cross the Antarctic solo.

Worsley’s wife Joanna confirmed his death in a statement on Monday, saying he died of “complete organ failure” after being airlifted to hospital on Friday with exhaustion and dehydration.

Worsley, 55, was attempting to complete Sir Ernest Shackleton’s historic unfinished expedition and had successfully raised over £100,000 for the Endeavour Fund, which helps injured servicemen and women and is run by the Duke of Cambridge, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s Royal Foundation.

The Duke of Cambridge released a statement, saying he and Prince Harry had lost a “friend” since Worsley’s passing.

“Harry and I are very sad to hear of the loss of Henry Worsley. He was a man who showed great courage and determination and we are incredibly proud to be associated with him.

“Even after retiring from the Army, Henry continued to show selfless commitment to his fellow servicemen and women, by undertaking this extraordinary Shackleton solo expedition on their behalf.

“We have lost a friend, but he will remain a source of inspiration to us all, especially those who will benefit from his support to the Endeavour Fund.

“We will now make sure that his family receive the support they need at this terribly difficult time.”

David Beckham posted a message on Facebook in tribute of Worsley and shared a picture of the two, which was taken when Beckham made a trip to the Antarctic.

No words can describe the sadness of the loss of Henry Worsley. I was lucky enough to have met Henry on my way out to...

Posted by David Beckham on Monday, 25 January 2016

Fellow adventurer, Bear Grylls wrote on Twitter that he is “devastated” by the loss and called him “one of the strongest men and bravest soldiers I know”, while adding that he is “praying for his special family”.

The television presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle also posted a message on Twitter, describing Worsley as an “inspiration to us all”.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s granddaughter Alexandra Shackleton told the BBC that his death is a “huge loss to the adventuring world”.

“This is a day of great sadness. Henry will be a huge loss to the adventuring world and the fact that he very, very nearly made it – only 30 miles short of his goal – makes it in some way seem worse.

“He was very energetic, very keen on testing himself, seeing how far he could get with his endeavours."

Worsley was just 30 miles shy of becoming the first person to cross the Antarctic unaided, 100 years after Shackleton attempted to commandeer the first team across the continent.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.