Mr Hadow reached his destination on Monday

Arctic explorer Pen Hadow is still waiting to be rescued six days after reaching the geographic North Pole.

Bad weather has prevented rescuers from reaching him by plane, and they are unable to explain to him what is happening as his satellite phone batteries have stopped working.

The 41-year-old has enough rations with him to last until Wednesday.

If he has not been rescued by then, his support team say they will drop food down to him as he waits on drifting ice.

On Monday, Mr Hadow became the first person to travel solo and unsupported from northern Canada to the geographic North Pole - starting at Ward Hunt Island.

Mr Hadow's wife Mary has told the BBC her husband is now physically exhausted and completely cut off from contact with the outside world.

You have defied great odds and extreme conditions in your endeavour The Queen, in her telegram to Pen Hadow

She said he was so tired that his legs kept buckling and he could not stand up properly.

Her comments came as she received a telegram from the Queen, congratulating her husband on his "courage, perseverance and determination" on his "remarkable" journey.

"You have defied great odds and extreme conditions in your endeavour," the Queen said.

"I offer you my warm congratulations."

'Horrid time'

Mrs Hadow said the last time she had spoken to her husband he had been "very tired, but very cheerful".

But she added: "My concern is that when the adrenaline disappears then he might start feeling ill."

Mr Hadow's signal beacon is sending out a message saying "non-urgent pick up requested here. Conditions OK for plane to land".

He is known to have prepared a landing strip.

Mrs Hadow, who lives with her husband and their two children in Dartmoor, Devon, said: "I think because he is all alone and so tired, Pen will be having a really horrid time."

She said she was not unduly worried about his safety, although there was a small chance that polar bears could be near his camp, or that the ice could crack under his tent.

Mrs Hadow said: "The telegram was nice. I know the Queen is interested in Arctic issues.

"What I think is quite extraordinary is how people have taken Pen, and his approach to life, to their hearts.

Mr Hadow, from Dartmoor, in Devon, has had no human contact since 17 March, and last spoke to his wife on Monday to say he had reached his goal.

The explorer braved freezing temperatures, swam in the freezing sea, and negotiated huge pressure ridges during his 478-mile solo trek.

The rescue aircraft will attempt to take off, when weather permits, from Eureka weather station on Ellesmere Island.