King Charles' 'sausage fingers' mystery explained as he returns to work amid cancer battle
Britain’s King Charles made a return to public duties yesterday with a visit to a hospital and specialist cancer centre in London.
Along with wife Camilla, he met cancer patients at University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre and bravely told them how he felt receiving his own cancer diagnosis. During the trip he also reassured those who asked about the state of his health, saying “I’m well” during his first public-facing event since being diagnosed in early February.
As he makes his way back into the public eye, some people may notice his swollen ‘sausage fingers’, which have been a topic of conversation for years.
The 75-year-old has even poked fun at the condition himself. He was filmed joking about his fingers alongside his son Prince William during rehearsals for his coronation last year as part of the BBC documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year.
William was seen closing a small clasp that held a lavish robe around his dad, and made the monarch laugh when he said: “On the day, that’s not going to go in.” In response, Charles joked back: “No, you haven’t got sausage fingers like mine.”
Back in 2012 he also made a quip about his ‘sausage fingers’ after getting off a long-haul flight to Australia.
Speculation by onlookers ramped up in 2021 when he was pictured pouring a pint during a royal engagement. At the time, one person took to Twitter to say: “I’ve never noticed the hands of Prince Charles until this photo. Is he okay? They are so swollen.”
King Charles has joked about his ‘sausage’ fingers
Now a top doctor has given insight into the royal’s mysterious condition, Mirror UK reports. GP Chun Tang, Medical Director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, said there are many potential causes of Charles’ so-called ‘sausage fingers’.
Dr Tang previously told the Daily Mail: “Often puffy fingers are a symptom of water retention which can be caused by numerous health conditions. This condition arises due to inflammation and can be a result of arthritis, multiple bacterial infections or even TB.
“Other possibilities include high salt levels, allergic reactions, medicinal side effects, injury and autoimmune disease.”
There’s even a technical word for his swollen digits – dactylitis – which is a medical term for severe swelling that affects your fingers and toes.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attends a Service of Thanksgiving to mark the 70th Anniversary of VE Day at Westminster Abbey on May 10, 2015 in London, England.
However, Charles seems to take it all in stride, and reportedly stated that his ‘sausage fingers’ apparently run in the family.
In a letter penned to a friend after William was born, quoted in Charles, The Man Who Will Be King by Howard Hodgson, he reportedly wrote: “I can’t tell you how excited and proud I am. He really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine.”
His late mother, the Queen, also apparently noted the size of Charles’ hands, reportedly writing a letter to her music teacher after he was born saying: “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.”
Charles
During his momentous Coronation, questions about the King’s swollen digits resurfaced, as some wondered whether the monarch was only wearing one glove as part of the ceremony owing to his hands. However it turns out that this was simply part of tradition.
Britain’s King has never confirmed the cause of his swollen fingers.
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