I’m a doctor and here’s the reason King Charles has swollen sausage fingers

It’s the question the nation has been asking in the run-up to the coronation – and now Britain may finally have an answer.

A doctor has explained what could be the cause of King Charles’s swollen “sausage” fingers.

GP Chun Tang, medical director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, said: ‘There are many reasons why someone might suffer from ‘sausage fingers’.

“Often, swollen fingers are a symptom of water retention, which can be caused by a variety of health conditions. Sausage fingers are officially known as dactylitis.

“This condition is caused by inflammation and can be the result of arthritis, multiple bacterial infections or even tuberculosis.”

“Other possibilities include high salt content, allergic reactions, medicinal side effects, injury and autoimmune diseases.

‘Treatment for this condition can be determined when the underlying cause is identified. A blood test should be done to determine underlying problems.”

The king has previously joked about the appearance of his hands.

And he even called them his “sausage fingers” in a letter he wrote to a friend describing his newborn son, Prince William.

“I can’t tell you how excited and proud I am. He really does look surprisingly appetizing and has sausage fingers just like mine,” he wrote, as quoted in Howard Hodgson’s Charles, The Man Who Will Be King.

Discussion about Charles’ ‘sausage fingers’ is rife on social media, at one point it was the seventh most searched term on Google in the UK, with many wondering what the problem might be.

King Charles is often depicted with swollen hands and feet, noticeable after long periods of flying or traveling to hot countries.

But the public didn’t really start to take notice until he ascended the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The king has snapped swollen fingers a number of times over the years, jokingly referring to them as ‘sausages’ in 2012

Charles’ fingers and toes were conspicuously red and swollen on the first day of his 2019 royal tour of India

He was also seen with painfully swollen hands and feet on the first day of his 2019 royal tour of India when he took off his shoes to step into a Sikh temple in New Delhi.

Observers also pointed to the royals’ swollen hands as he sipped a pint at The Prince of Wales pub in Clapham Old Town in 2021.

The royal family has had big hands from an early age – a trait the Queen wrote about in a letter to her music teacher after Charles was born.

She wrote: “The baby is very sweet and we are extremely proud of him. He has an interesting pair of hands for a baby.

‘They are quite large, but with fine long fingers that are very different from mine and certainly not from his father. It will be interesting to see what they become.’

The king has never confirmed the cause of his predicament.

But he may be aware of the nation’s interest in his hands, as he appears to hide his hands in royal photographs.

Royal observers noticed King Charles’s swollen fingers as he sipped a pint at The Prince of Wales pub in Clapham Old Town in 2021

The King and Queen’s consort will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6, with an invitation to 2,000 lucky people

In the most recent royal photo of himself and Camilla, the monarch wore a simple pinstripe suit while his wife Camilla, the queen consort, posed in a cobalt blue dress.

But members of the public realized that one detail seemed to be hidden from the photographer: the king’s hands.

In one shot, he has them hidden behind his back as he stands next to Camilla, 75.

A second shot shows the 74-year-old with one hand in his pocket.

Social media users then jokingly noted that the monarch had been “bullied” into keeping his fingers off the show.

“Show us his hands, you cowards,” one Twitter user commented under the portraits.

A second quipped, “We’ll never see them again brother.”

“I want to abolish the monarchy, but I still feel bad that we bullied a grown man into never showing his hands again,” another joked.

One person also added, “I can’t believe Twitter bullied the literal king into never showing his hands.”