In recent years, King Charles hasn’t experienced any seriosevereth issues. The new monarch of the UK has yet to experience many physical disorders or difficulties.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped many people from noticing how big his fingers are and wondering if he has some ongoing condition. They’ve been dubbed “sausage fingers” by Charles himself”.
Dr Gareth Nye expressed his worries about King Charles’ swollen fingers last year. He argued at the time that swollen fingers couldn’t be used to draw any immediate health conclusions. Now, with new pictures of the King emerging after his recent trip to Germany, Nye is again bringing up the topic of the monarch’s hands.
If reports are believed, King Charles hasn’t experienced severe health problems. However, recent talk about his fingers has royal fans worried that he might have a condition that the general public isn’t aware of.
Although photos of Charles’ red, swollen hands have previously gone viral on social media, the King reportedly has had oversized fingers for years. He even made light of them in 2012 while travelling to Australia, calling them his “sausage fingers”.
Charles’ fingers seem to have remained that way for a long time. Charles reportedly wrote about the birth of Prince William in a letter to a friend in the 1980s.
I’m so happy and proud that I can’t even express it. In the Howard Hodgson biography Charles, The Man Who Will Be King, King Charles says, “He does look surprisingly tasty and has sausage fingers just like mine.
King Charles’ “sausage fingers.”.
Therefore, throughout the King’s life, his hands have been a topic of conversation.
“The baby is adorable, and we are enormously proud of him. He has an interesting pair of hands for a baby,” a letter from Elizabeth read.
“They are rather large but with fine long fingers quite unlike mine and certainly unlike his father’s. It will be interesting to see what they become. I still find it hard to believe I have my own baby!”.
Last year, Dr Gareth Nye raised his concerns concerning King Charles’ swollen fingers.
Speaking with the Daily Star, Nye, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester, explained that while “loads of conditions” could lead to swollen fingers, some were more likely than others.
One possibility could be oedema or fluid retention, he said at the time.
“Oedema is a condition where the body starts to retain fluids in the limbs, normally the legs and ankles, but also in the fingers, which causes them to swell,” Nye said. “Oedema is a common condition and mostly affects people over 65 as the ability for fluid control is restricted”.
He added: “To see if this is the cause, pressing the swollen area for about 15 seconds would cause a depression in the area”.
What do King Charles’ fingers say about his health?
Moreover, the doctor said King Charles’ swollen fingers could also be a sign of arthritis, a common condition for people over 60. It commonly affects three main areas in the hand – the thumb joint or either joint in the fingers.
While Nye further explained that causes might include a high salt diet, blood pressure medication can also lead to swelling. Yet despite all possibilities, he states that King Charles’ “sausage fingers” are not a sign of a significant health issue for the newly announced British monarch.
“There certainly aren’t any immediate health concerns to be concluded from swollen fingers, and it is most likely a sign of his age,” Dr Gareth Nye told the Daily Star.
Two weeks ago, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla were to embark on their historic first joint state visit abroad. Their first stop was supposed to be in France, though it was postponed due to the mass demonstrations against President Emeenuelee Macron and the country’s unpopular pension reforms.
“The king and the queen consort’s state visit to France has been postponed. Their majesties greatly look forward to visiting France as soon as dates can be found,” Buckingham Palace said.
Despite the visit to France being postponed, King Charles and Camilla’s second stop went as planned. The couple landed in Berlin days after their planned trip to France was cancelled. And with new pictures of the King emerging, Dr Gareth Nye once again weighed in on King Charles’ so-called “sausage fingers”.
Here is a new update on King Charles’ “sausage fingers”.
In an interview with The Daily Star, Nye concluded that the monarch’s condition has changed and might even worsen.
Yet, while King Charles’ fingers have looked like this for a long time, Dr Gareth Nye ruled out two previous theories he issued regarding the King’s condition.
Previous suggestions for the possible causes away from his anatomy included oedema, where fluid leaks out of the blood and stays within the tissues nearby, leading to a swollen appearance,” Nye told the Daily Star.
As Nye believes King Charles’ fingers have gotten worse, he said that the oedema is not likely anymore. Moreover, he doesn’t believe gout, a common form of inflammatory arthritis, is to blame.
“Although gout impacts the hands and is a condition where small crystals formed of uric acid develop in the space between joints leading to pain, redness, and swelling, this condition normally impacts individual joints,” Nye said.
“The images here suggest the whole hand is involved, which doesn’t agree with the diagnosis of gout”.
“The most likely cause here is as it was six months ago, and King Charles has arthritis in the hands, which seems to be worsening with time. Arthritis is a prevalent condition in people over 60 however can be extremely debilitating and can limit movement of the impacted joints. ”.
“I’m sure King Charles is fully aware…”.
Dr Gareth Nye continued: “Although treatments and medications can help the condition, it will ultimately worsen over time. This is particularly true in joints that are used more frequently; we can agree the hand is one. The condition most commonly associated with swollen fingers is Dactylitis which again is most commonly seen in those with arthritis. ”.
“Dactylitis is unique as the swelling remains even if the underlying inflammation is controlled, which is likely what we see here,” Nye concluded, adding that it’s important to point out that it isn’t a life-threatening condition.
Moreover, Nye believes King Charles is well aware of the causation behind his swollen fingers.
“Although this condition doesn’t lead me to believe anything sinister is underlying the King, it doesn’t mean the condition is something to be ignored, and I’m sure King Charles is fully aware of the cause of finger issues,” he told The Daily Star.
While King Charles has not suffered from significant health issues over the years *(at least not those known to the public), the monarch’s story could have ended tragically.
In October of 1982, The Mary Rose – King Henry VIII’s flagship in the 1500s – was excavated, and then-Prince Charles was there to watch the effort.
Charles was a huge fan of the ship’s history and supported the efforts of lifting the boat from its ocean grave. As a result, he wanted to watch the process with his own eyes. He was among the last people to dive into the wreck alongside archaeologists just outside Portsmouth Harbour.
King Charles could have died on live television.
Charles examined the vessel up close as it was lifted from the seabed. He was supposed to board the remains of the ship. However, the idea was ruled out for being too dangerous.
The giant crane called Tog Mor – Gaelic for “big lift” – collapsed during the lift. The frame broke away and almost smashed the ship’s hull, close to where the king would have stood.
Royal Engineer Jack Frost was involved in lifting The Mary Rose from the sea and saw the crash with his own eyes.
“You know, the future king of England could have died live on TV, which I think would have changed the whole aspect of the recovery, to be honest. Everything went silent. There wasn’t a whisper. No one spoke for what felt like minutes, was probably ten seconds, but just no one moved,” Frost said in the documentary Raising the Mary Rose: The Lost Tapes.
Another close call happened in March 1988 while then-Prince Charles was skiing with friends in the Swiss Alps. He narrowly escaped an avalanche. But sadly, his friend, Major Hugh Lindsay, passed away.
King Charles and Camilla’s recent trip to Germany was a success, and now the attention turns to the all-important coronation on May 6.
King Charles’ coronation – who will perform?
The historical day will see millions of people celebrating King Charles and Camilla. A massive concert will honour them the day after the coronation.
Last year, when Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, a concert outside Buckingham Palace saw stars such as Brian May of Queen, Duran Duran, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, and Diana Ross performing.
However, now just months away from King Charles’ coronation, there’s been no official word on who the main acts will be. As per reports, several A-list stars have already declined the monarch.
Reports state that Elton John, Robbie Williams, Harry Styles, and the Spice Girls have all said no to performing at King Charles’s concert on May 7. Previously, it was reported that both Adele and Ed Sheeran had declined a spot on the bill at the historic show.
Though time is running out, royal expert Christopher Andersen – author of The King – says there still is plenty of time for the Palace to arrange an A-list lineup.
“As far as lining up performers for the coronation concert, I wouldn’t panic quite yet,” Andersen told Fox in late February. “Joss Stone is a friend of the younger royals and can usually be counted on. There is also a long list of American pop stars chomping at the bit to perform. ”.
Andersen added that the artists who performed during the Queen’s Jubilee last year would most likely be asked to perform again. One he believes would love to perform in front of the new king is the “The Queen of Pop. ”.
“They’d be crazy not to ask Madonna, who has a massive 40th-anniversary tour this summer, and I’m sure wouldn’t mind the opportunity to perform for the king,” Christopher Andersen explained.
“So, plenty of options. People are reading way too much into what amounts to scheduling conflicts. It’s highly doubtful that anyone would accept the invitation to perform at the coronation… It’s a singular moment in history, and, frankly, just too massive a gig!”. Even the late Queen Elizabeth once commented on her firstborn son’s hands, describing them as “interesting”.
