King Charles has been spared any significant health issues in recent years. Indeed, the UK’s new monarch has never really been troubled by any physical ailments or complications.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped a great many people remarking on the size of his fingers and speculating whether or not that’s to do with any type of ongoing condition. Charles himself has labeled them “sausage fingers.”
Last year, Dr. Gareth Nye raised his own concerns regarding King Charles’ swollen fingers. At the time, he argued that there weren’t any immediate health concerns to be concluded from swollen fingers. Now, though, with new pictures of the King emerging after his recent trip to Germany, Nye is once again bringing up the topic of the monarch’s hands.
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Over the years, King Charles hasn’t suffered from significant health issues (so long as reports are to be trusted). In recent years, however, speculation surrounding his fingers have left royal fans concerned that he may be living with a condition that they general public isn’t aware of.
Pictures of Charles’ red, swollen hands have spread across social media in the past, but the King has reportedly lived with oversized fingers for years. In 2012, while visiting Australia, he even joked about them, saying they were his “sausage fingers.”
Indeed, Charles’ fingers appear to have been that way for many decades. In the 1980s, when Prince William was born, Charles reportedly wrote about it in a letter to a friend.
“I can’t tell you how excited and proud I am. He really does look surprisingly appetizing and has sausage fingers just like mine,” King Charles is quoted saying in the Howard Hodgson biography Charles, The Man Who Will Be King.
King Charles’ “sausage fingers”
So the King’s hands have been a talking point all his life. Even the late Queen Elizabeth once commented on her firstborn son’s hands, describing them as “interesting.”
“The baby is very sweet 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 a baby of my own!”
Last year, Dr. Gareth Nye raised his own 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 the age of 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 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 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 the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
Despite the visit to France being postponed, King Charles and Camilla’s second stop went ahead as planned. The couple landed in Berlin days after their planned trip to France was canceled. And with new pictures of the King emerging, Dr. Gareth Nye once again weighed in on King Charles’ so-called “sausage fingers.”
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 be worsening.
Yet while King Charles’ fingers have looked like this for a long time, Dr. Gareth Nye ruled out two previous theories he issued as to what the King’s condition could be.
!Previous suggestions for the possible causes away from his individual 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 does impact on 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 that King Charles is suffering with arthritis in the hands which seems to be worsening with time. Arthritis is an extremely common 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, ultimately, it will get worse over time. This is particularly true in joints that are used more frequently, which 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 that 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 any major health issues over the years *(at least not those known to the public), the monarch’s story could have ended in a very tragic way.
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 ship from its ocean grave. As a result, he wanted to watch the process with his own eyes. He was one of the last people to dive down to 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 being lifted from the seabed. He was supposed to board the remains of the vessel. However, the idea was ruled out for being too dangerous.
During the lift, the giant crane called Tog Mor – Gaelic for “big lift” – collapsed. The frame broke away and almost smashed the ship’s hull, close to where the king would have been standing.
Royal Engineer Jack Frost was involved in the operation of 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 on a skiing trip with a group of 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. The day after the coronation, a massive concert will be arranged to honor them.
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.
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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 none other than 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 really amounts to scheduling conflicts. It’s highly doubtful that anyone would turn down the invitation to perform at the coronation… It’s a singular moment in history, and, frankly, just too massive a gig!”
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