The King was in high spirits as he shook hands with Donald Trump on the steps outside Windsor Castle on Thursday morning – but royal fans were distracted by one unusual aspect
Having hosted President Trump and the First Lady at a lavish banquet last night, King Charles has bid farewell to the couple as they departed Windsor Castle for the next stop on their State Visit.
The King continued to be in high spirits as he shook hands with Trump, smiling broadly as the two men chatted on the steps outside. But royal watchers couldn’t help but be distracted by one unusual aspect of Charles’ appearance – his fingers.
Fans of the Royal Family have previously expressed concern for the King over photos in which his fingers appeared excessively red and swollen. And he has himself poked fun at his ‘sausage fingers’ in the past. But what causes the inflammation?
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GP Chun Tang, Medical Director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, has shared his insight, previously telling 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. Other possibilities include high salt levels, allergic reactions [and] medicinal side effects.
The technical term for the King’s ‘sausage fingers’ is dactylitis, which is used to describe severe swelling that affects fingers and toes.
According to the NHS , swelling in the arms and hands, also known as oedema, are often caused by a build-up of fluid in the area. This can be caused by staying in the same position too long, eating too much salty food, or taking certain medicines. It can also occur from changes in temperature, infections, or some conditions like psoriatic arthritis.
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At the end of 2023, viewers saw the monarch laugh about his swollen fingers during a conversation with son Prince William, in the BBC documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year.
While closing a clasp that held a robe around his father, William said: “On the day, that’s not going to go in,” to which Charles jokingly replied: “No, you haven’t got sausage fingers like mine”.
And it seems the King’s hands have been a topic of discussion since the day of his birth, as his late mother the Queen observed in a letter to her former music teacher.
Her Majesty wrote: “The baby is very sweet and we are enormously proud of him. He has an interesting pair of hands for a baby.
“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!”
King Charles also referred to them himself, in a letter to a friend after Prince William’s birth.
As quoted in Howard Hodgson’s biography Charles, The Man Who Will Be King, the 76-year-old 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.”